FAYETTEVILLE -- A sorority house near the edge of the University of Arkansas campus and at the corner of the Wilson Park area neighborhood will be able to expand by 13,000 square feet after a Planning Commission vote Monday.
The commission voted 7-1 with one member absent to allow the expansion of the Pi Beta Phi house at West Maple Street and North Wilson Avenue, overriding objections from several neighbors.
The sorority's plan is to tear down the half-century-old, 29,000-square-foot building and replace it with one covering 42,000 square feet in four stories, including a basement. The structure would house around 100 women in 37 bedrooms; the expansion would be primarily for gathering and meeting spaces.
The developer and sorority supporters said the organization simply needs more breathing room. The sorority had 75 members when the house was built and now has 400, Allen Young with Development Consultants told the commission.
Builders would add a sidewalk along Wilson and a stone wall around the parking lot on the building's north side, according to the plans. Two lots would hold about 60 parking spaces, the same number as now but spread across more of the property.
"I think it's going to be a beautiful addition to the neighborhood," said David Russell, who lives a few blocks north of the house and has a daughter in the sorority.
Phyllis and Frank Head were among the neighbors who weren't convinced. Many worried the new structure would loom imposingly over the street or would clog the area with traffic.
"It sounds like a lot to me -- it's a very large building," Phyllis Head said, adding she otherwise loved living next to sororities and the university. She suggested a plan with less square footage or more parking.
Joel Hersh, who said he has lived a block north of the house for almost 30 years, noted the plan included no visitor or street parking. A bigger house hosting bigger events would make a "terrible" traffic situation during rush hour and other times even worse, he said.
Craig Honchell was the lone commissioner who sided with the opponents. People might be tempted to park unsafely along a circle drive running along the house's west side, he said, among other concerns. The one-way drive is meant for dropping off or picking up people and for fire trucks.
"I think there's a whole lot to this that still needs to be hashed out before we can move forward with it," he said.
Sorority supporters said the number of people coming to the house would stay the same; they'd have more room only once they got there. Most of the commission appeared to accept this reasoning.
"It all seems workable to me," commissioner Janet Selby said.
The commissioners first had to allow the number of parking spaces, which is higher than would be allowed for an apartment complex of the same size. Then they approved a large-scale development permit for construction.
Commissioner Ron Autry was absent.
Dan Holtmeyer can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @NWADanH.
NW News on 03/24/2015