BARLING — The Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority is offering Barling 80 acres of land to compensate for the 80 acres the town would lose to the Arkansas National Guard in a proposed land swap.
“It’s our first shot at trying to figure out a way to make them [Barling officials] happy,” authority Executive Director Ivy Owen said Tuesday.
Owen went before the Barling Board of Directors on Tuesday with the offer of the land located along Arkansas 59 and just south of Springhill Park. The land is within Barling city limits but is owned by the redevelopment authority, which is charged with reverting the former Fort Chaffee property to civilian use.
He told the city directors Barling could develop the land or sell it and enjoy whatever revenue and tax money the land would generate. He said he hoped the land would offset the loss of tax revenue and economic benefits of the 80 acres that is part of the proposed land swap with the National Guard.
Barling Mayor Jerry Barling said Wednesday the board did not discuss the offer after Owen’s presentation but will consider it when it meets again in two weeks.
The directors made some comments Tuesday, including City Directors Bruce Farrar who said he did not believe giving the 80 acres to the Arkansas National Guard would be the best use of the land.
The National Guard and redevelopment authority are working on a proposal to trade 200 acres of redevelopment authority land next to the Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center cantonment area for 522 acres of unused Fort Chaffee land along Custer Boulevard. Of the 200 acres the National Guard would get, 120 acres is in Fort Smith’s city limits and the remaining 80 acres is in Barling.
All of the 522 acres is in Fort Smith.
The 200 acres the National Guard would get once held hundreds of World War II vintage barracks. They burned in 2009 and the land has been cleared and is ready for development.
Military officials have said they would like to use the land for additional housing for officers and soldiers training atFort Chaffee. The availability of the land also would allow Fort Chaffee to compete for a regional training facility.
Owen said 90 percent of the 522 acres, if the deal goes through, would be used for industrial development. He said the redevelopment authority is down to its last 40 acres of industrial land and needs more. The other 10 percent would be mined for shale and rock, the sale of which would add to the authority’s coffers.
Owen said the completion of the proposed land swap remains distant. The Army Corps of Engineers is still appraising the land and the proposal would have many more steps that would take many more months to complete before a decision on the land trade is made.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 03/27/2014