FAYETTEVILLE — City officials are closer to deciding where the Walton Arts Center’s administrative staff will be housed during construction on a downtown parking deck.
The City Council in December 2012 agreed to pay “reasonable rent and moving expenses” for temporary arts center offices. The offices will house about 30 employees for up to 20 months.
“They are essentially being dislocated because of the construction project,” Jeremy Pate, city Development Services director, said this week. “We don’t want the Walton Arts Center to close down for a season.”
At A Glance
Walton Arts Center Office Proposals
Three firms submitted proposals to the city to lease space for temporary Walton Arts Center administrative offices.
• Downtown Properties Real Estate Group
• Fulbright Properties
• Reindl Management
Source: City Of Fayetteville
“We want to continue to have them there and thrive just like any other season,” Pate added.
The 246-space parking deck is planned on the southeast corner of the center's property at Spring Street and School Avenue where administrative offices are. New offices will be built as part of the parking deck project.
The city is financially responsible for building the new offices. The center will pay for any square footage above what it has now.
It’s unclear exactly how much the move, and 12 to 20 months worth of rent, will cost the city.
Exact dollar amounts from three proposals will not be made public until after a selection committee, comprising city staff, Alderman Matthew Petty and Terri Trotter, arts center chief operating officer, make a recommendation to the City Council.
City officials don't intend to use money from a $6.2 million bond issue to pay for rent and moving costs. Instead, general fees and fines from the city’s parking program will cover those expenses. The bond money will go to building the deck.
The City Council is scheduled to approve a contract with one of three firms Feb. 18. Friday was the deadline to submit proposals.
According to the Fayetteville Purchasing Division, the three proposals came from Fulbright Properties, Downtown Properties Real Estate Group and Reindl Management.
Ted Belden, the registered agent for Fulbright Properties, said Friday the first two proposals were for space in the Fulbright Building at 217 E. Dickson St., where the Fayetteville Public Library used to be, and in the E.J. Ball building at 112 W. Dickson St.
Belden’s company, Ball Plaza Holdings, owns the E.J. Ball building, according to Washington County property records. Downtown Properties handles property management and leasing operations for the building, according to the company’s website.
Property records indicate Reindl Management is the company that owns the Metro District building at 509 W. Spring St., where The Wine Cellar is located. Brian Reindl didn't return a phone message left Friday afternoon.
According to the city’s request for proposals, firms could have offered to provide modular or mobile space on the southwest corner of the parking lot west of the Walton Arts Center.
Beth Bobbitt, arts center public relations manager, said this week center staff would prefer to be as close to the center at 495 W. Dickson St. as possible.
“There a lot of functions that require us to be there throughout the day,” Bobbitt said.
Andrea Foren, purchasing agent for the city, said location is one of several factors the selection committee will consider.
According to Foren and Bobbitt, arts center administrators plan to move to temporary offices between March 22 and 29, when University of Arkansas students are on Spring Break and no performances are scheduled in Baum Walker Hall.
The city’s most recent timeline anticipates parking deck construction beginning in April or May and taking 12 to 18 months to complete.