BENTONVILLE -- CEI Engineering Associates has stepped up to help in the effort to expedite redevelopment along North Walton Boulevard.
The company has offered to provide "due diligence" services and conceptual site planning at no cost to prospective developers.
CEI’s Offer
The scope of services for this initiative includes the following:
Due Diligence
CEI will prepare a site investigation report outlining site and building issues for a given location. CEI also will review the preliminary design with local permitting officials and utility companies to discuss the proposed development.
Conceptual Site Plans
CEI will prepare a conceptual site plan and up to three revisions per the developer’s direction. The plan will be based on information gathered from the site investigation report and available maps depicting existing conditions. Conceptual site plans will be coordinated with the developer and utilized for scoping meetings and as a basis for civil and site development plans.
Meeting Attendance
CEI will attend up to two initial scoping meetings with city staff to determine the proposed development’s feasibility. CEI then will provide recommendations to the developer for modifications to the proposed development that may be required as a result of the scoping meetings.
Source: Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce
The offer comes two weeks after the Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce announced creating the North Walton Loan Consortium. The consortium of eight banks has pooled $16 million to provide low-rate financing to qualified developers with viable proposals to enhance one of the city's main corridors.
CEI contacted the chamber with the idea after the consortium was announced, said Dana Davis, chamber president and CEO.
"We're trying to put together a package of incentives to try to accelerate that redevelopment so anytime someone can come and help with adding something to that package, it adds value to what we're tying to accomplish," Davis said.
CEI's due diligence services will include a site investigation report outlining the site and any building issues, according to a news release. Its conceptual site plan services will include up to three revisions.
"What it's intended to do is help a potential developer determine on the front end on whether [a project is] even feasible or not," said Jeffrey Geurian, CEI's CEO and president.
The monetary value of those services could range from $1,500 to $10,000 depending on the size of the project, he said. The services being offered are a small part of the overall scope for a whole project, he added.
"We want to help them make the best decision they possibly can," Geurian said. "I'm hopeful that it will really do a lot to help the northern corridor."
The boundaries for where these services will be offered are the same as those for the loan consortium program, which includes properties within one block east or west of North Walton Boulevard between Ridgefield Street and West Central Avenue.
There's no monetary value cap for the amount of services CEI will provide; however, its offer will end when the loan program ends, Geurian said. That will be Dec. 31, 2017, or sooner, if all the money is committed before then.
North Walton Boulevard is an area city officials have targeted for redevelopment and growth.
The City Council adopted the North Walton Enhancement Plan in 2013. It emphasizes better and safer access for motorists and pedestrians, pleasing aesthetics with inviting streetscapes and architecture updates and establishment of a compatible mix of residential and commercial development.
City and chamber officials have expressed hope to see similar success on North Walton Boulevard that has been achieved downtown.
Mach 1 Financial Group is in the process of renovating the interior of its soon-to-be new location at 408 N. Walton Blvd. The company hopes to move between mid-April and mid-May, said David Lee, founder and CEO.
Mach 1 now rents space in Bella Vista Town Center.
The company bought the building shortly before enhancement plans were announced, Lee said.
"We just found ourselves right in the heart of that area," he said. "We're very excited about it."
The company will add signs to the outside of the building, but most of the renovation will happen inside to give more of a modern look to the building built in the 1970s, Lee said.
Lee anticipates property value will increase and new businesses to set up shop with the redevelopment efforts.
"I think it will be great not just for our business but for the whole community of Bentonville," he said.
Davis alluded there will be more incentives to help development along North Walton Boulevard. There are "other pieces of the package" that are still in progress but not to the point where they can be announced, he said.
The hope is if someone has thought about developing or enhancing a property, these incentives will encourage them to start projects within a year, Davis said.
"If we left it alone, it would eventually develop over the course of time, but we don't want to wait 20 years," he said. "We want to accelerate that."
NW News on 02/14/2015