Bentonville Planning Commission approves court expansion adjustments

BENTONVILLE -- A delay in getting some outside materials necessitated a change to the Benton County Courthouse expansion plans.

An amendment to the ongoing downtown construction project was approved 5-0 by the city Planning Commission on Tuesday. Two commission members were absent.

The previously approved large-scale development also was updated with a waiver to allow for landscaping and other outdoor improvements to be done after the parking lot between the courthouse and the County Administration Building on East Central Avenue is finished.

Shipping delays for brick pavers necessitated the waiver request, according to planning documents. The waiver also was approved 5-0.

Landscaping, brick paver and sidewalk work is tracking into November or December if the contractor is able to get materials, said Bryan Beeson, county facilities administrator.

The parking lot is scheduled to be finished in October. The north half is open, and work has started on the south end. The lot will have 72 spaces when finished, Beeson said.

The county amended its original large-scale development to reflect three updated outdoor site phases. Phase one is the northern half of the parking lot, phase two is the southern half of the parking lot, and phase three is the sidewalks and landscaping, according to planning documents.

The development will provide a 12-foot sidewalk along East Central Avenue and an 8-foot sidewalk along Northeast Second Street, according to planning documents.

In May, the county received a $485,000 grant from the Walton Family Foundation to beautify the area between the courthouse and the administration building, according to a county news release.

The grant will pay for landscaping and improvements to the parking area between Northeast Second Street and East Central Avenue.

Enhancements include brick pavers along the surrounding sidewalks, flowering shrubs, evergreen shrubs, perennial mixes, maple trees, benches and additional planters, according to the release.

The $3.1 million expansion project will add 5,500 square feet to the 28,000-square-foot courthouse and provide a new courtroom for Christine Horwart, who became the county's seventh circuit court judge in January. Construction began Feb. 1.

Horwart's courtroom and office will be on the second floor of the addition. A lobby will be on the first floor.

The Planning Commission also approved an amendment to a conditional-use permit for temporary storage for Walmart 5-0.

Walmart asked that it be allowed to expand the storage area at 805 S.E Moberly Lane to include 75 flatbed trailers that contain timber to be used during construction of a new Walmart Home Office campus. The area where the trailers will go is on the northern section of the David Glass Technology Center parking lot. The previously approved containers would remain on site, according to previous planning documents.

The new home office campus property is generally bound by East Central Avenue to the north, Southeast Martin Luther King Junior Parkway and Southeast Moberly Lane to the east, Southeast 14th Street to the south, and Southeast J Street to the west, according to previous planning documents.