A new, 77-unit, mixed-income apartment development in Springdale will include 30 units for households making less than $92,000 a year, the Northwest Arkansas Council announced at its annual meeting Tuesday.
Groundwork, the newly renamed workforce housing center of the council, dubbed the project "Big Emma" and announced it will benefit from a $6.75 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation. The project will go up at the southeast corner of Emma Avenue and Park Street in downtown Springdale, the group announced.
"Northwest Arkansas' rapid growth has caused housing to become increasingly inaccessible for the region's workers and their families," said Duke McLarty, Groundwork executive director. More must be done to ensure adequate housing options for workers, he said.
The average house price exceeds $370,000 in Washington County and $400,000 in Benton County, according to industry figures presented by McLarty at the meeting. This far exceeds what most most residents of the region can afford. Rents are also high, he said. Vacancy rates are near zero on apartments, making a dwelling hard to find at any price, he said.
Most households in the Northwest Arkansas region make less than $92,000 a year, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This figure is the median for local incomes, meaning 50% of households here make that much or less.
"You'd have to make 140% of that to afford a house" at prevailing prices, McLarty told the audience at Tuesday's meeting, held at the Momentary in Bentonville.
Residential rents in the state as a whole went up 16.5% in the past year -- seven times the national average increase of 2.4%, according to industry figures.
The Bentonville nonprofit corporation Community Development Northwest Arkansas will manage the project. The project was originally commissioned by Shiloh Capital, an investment fund owned by Springdale natives Ken Hall, Don Harris and Tom Lundstrum. The group also developed "Little Emma" less than a block away.
The $92,000 is the current figure for median income, but Big Emma's management will adjust the income qualification for the 30 units when the median figure changes, according to McLarty. The units will not be divided by rent rates, he said. All units will meet the same standards, but 30 of the tenants will be households with incomes below the median. Rents for the workforce units are expected to be about 20% to 25% less than prices for regular units, according to Isabel Gamarra, Groundwork's communications director.
"This is an opportunity we haven't had before for something we really, really need," said Patsy Christie, director of Springdale's planning department.
Judd Semingson, chief executive of the Community Clinic health care center, described the Big Emma project as an answer to a serious need in a video presentation about the project. Health care workers at the clinic would be able to walk to work from the project, he said. Finding places for staff to live has grown to be a serious problem, he said.
The Northwest Arkansas Council is an association of business and community leaders in the region who address regional issues.
Rapidly rising home prices have been the group's top issue in recent years, and a major concern of city governments, employers and others.
The Bentonville School District, for instance, discussed Monday whether to donate land it owns to build housing the district's employees can afford.
The Fayetteville City Council calls the housing situation there a crisis and voted in June to spend $1.68 million on a project to address it.
Rogers City Council's finance committee was told July 11 of a project that could use 3-D printing technology to build housing in an effort to reduce costs.
No existing businesses will be displaced by the project, McLarty said. No date for construction to begin was announced, but the project is expected to open in either late 2024 or early 2025, he said. No estimate of project cost was available either, he said.
"Groundwork's first investment in downtown Springdale will serve as a model for future projects to provide more affordable housing options near core city centers," McLarty said.
Groundwork chose the site for being within walking distance of important amenities such as grocery stores, health clinics and pharmacies along with recreational sites Luther George Park, the Razorback Regional Greenway and The Jones Center.
BiLd Architects of Fayetteville designed the mixed-use development to include a ground-floor coffee shop.
"The Big Emma development will be a great addition to other significant investments happening across Springdale's vibrant downtown district," said Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse. "As one of the fastest-growing communities in the state, the city looks forward to working with Groundwork and others to ensure there is enough high-quality housing for all who choose to call Springdale home."
"Permanently affordable housing is crucial to providing homes for teachers, nurses and other workers we all depend on," said Robert Burns, Walton Family Foundation Home Region Program director. "Big Emma will be a model for the region, ensuring Northwest Arkansas remains a great place to live and thrive."
The Northwest Arkansas Council launched the workforce housing center in 2021. The new name Groundwork "better reflects the mission and vision of the organization," McLarty said.