Fayetteville, Arkansas

[UrbanArkie]

The attitude of "not in my town", go next door is what will keep this area only knows as confused and big Northwest Arkansas. I live in Rogers, am I glad we have a Minor League Stadium in our area YES! Am i glad there is an incredible museum? YES! I am even just as proud of the UofA and all the incredible advances Fayetteville has taken from Little Rock in that. Those of us North of Fayetteville supported an incredible boom of Fayetteville being an incredible town for decades. But now that we have our own horns to honk, share the love. Just look to the metro to your south to see what can happen to an incredible culture that rests on itself(no i dont mean West Fork).

wmr, if you are in Rogers in the next few months, I would love to buy you a six pack up here.

[bubba72704]

The Fayetteville city government would be well served if they acknowledged that they need to compete with the other 3 large cities in the area. As someone who lives in Springdale I find that it's just not worth the hustle and hassle of going to Fayetteville when things up north are just as nice or better. Yes, Fayetteville is a great town. Yes, it has a great culture about it. But you have to remember that many businesses who have put down roots in Northwest Arkansas chose to go north before building in Fayetteville. Look at Cabela's, Academy, Houlihan's, Whole Foods, etc. Of course there are tons of factors in choosing a site, but you need to send a signal to the business community that you want to work WITH them -- not AGAINST them.

[wmr]

Oh I have nothing against the north side of the metro. And the big retailers that went north first did so due to demographic advantages that now exist in Benton County rather than some perceived "non-friendly" attitude in Fayetteville. For the record, I don't think any of those mentioned have big signs, either, as Rogers has done a decent job of reeling those in, although not as good as Fayetteville.

I'm just saying the city has a plan for how it wants to look over time, and I'm glad we put thought into it. Fayetteville won't get a Love's truck stop, either, because we won't allow the giant signage. And that's fine. I think most of Fayetteville would agree. I like driving in our town and seeing our hillsides and trees, and not seeing the giant flashing billboards like you have in parts of Benton County and in Springdale. I think Walton Boulevard in Bentonville is an ugly mess. It woud look a lot nicer had there been uniform signage standards and tree requirements in place. Compare that street with Joyce Blvd in Fayetteville or even west Wedington. Both are similar in the kinds of businesses, but Joyce looks a ton better than Walton. So does Wedington.

[zman9810]

I think people are forgetting that Sam's Club left Springdale to come to Fayetteville- that was a good trade for Cracker Barrel. Fayetteville's quality of life due to city planning will attract more businesses than are lost. There are many amenities that Fayetteville was the first to have in NWA that other cities have copied- a trail system is the first that comes to mind.

As wmr noted- the growth of Benton County hasn't been because of Fayetteville's failure to attract that growth but because the world's largest retailer that is located there went through an incredible growth cycle and brought it's vendors along with it.

[wmr]

While at lunch today, I noticed that the old Mermaid's (former Pizza Inn) on Green Acres Rd is under contract, as well as the office building next door. It may mean nothing, but having two adjacent older properties under contract at the same time sometimes means someone is planning to redevelop that area.

Anybody heard anything about those two parcels lately?

[bubba72704]

You could also make the argument that a large part of Fayetteville's growth is due to the huge growth of the U of A over the last 5 years. Aside from that major population boost have there been many major commercial/industrial developments in Fayetteville? A few small tech businesses maybe, but I can't think of any on a large scale. Please correct me if I'm wrong. You mention that Walton Blvd. is an ugly mess, and I agree, however I think most of the ugliness has to do with the aging of the commercial area -- not signage. If you look at South School or North College in Fayetteville -- pretty ugly. Regardless of sign ordinances.

[wmr]

I agree with you on Fayetteville's growth. One reason I am disappointed that we re-elected Jordan is that I don't think he has any clue how to drive good jobs to Fayetteville.

South School and North College are both aged and raggedy in spots, mainly because they are old.

Walton Blvd has added lots of "new crap", particularly around the 540 exit, over the past several years. I was comparing the "newish" developed areas of Fayetteville with how it was done on Walton near 540.

The point I was making is that sign ordinances are a good thing, IMO. Even if Bentonville had put one in place 20 years ago as relatively tame as Fayetteville's, the new growth areas would look a lot nicer than they do. Instead, you have flashing signs, lots of diferent heights, a hodge podge of large and ugly signs.

[strmchsr77]

While at lunch today, I noticed that the old Mermaid's (former Pizza Inn) on Green Acres Rd is under contract, as well as the office building next door. It may mean nothing, but having two adjacent older properties under contract at the same time sometimes means someone is planning to redevelop that area.

Anybody heard anything about those two parcels lately?

I believe the old Mermaid's/Pizza Inn building will be a new Foghorn's. They are moving to a bigger building from the College Ave location. At least that is what I heard.

[comreguy]

I believe the old Mermaid's/Pizza Inn building will be a new Foghorn's. They are moving to a bigger building from the College Ave location. At least that is what I heard.

I've heard the same.

[wmr]

Thanks for the info about Foghorns.

[cdj00]

Legacy Bank is coming to Joyce Blvd. next to the current Arvest Bank branch. A sign and construction fence was being put up today.

 

Also, a Panda Express on MLK.

Edited December 15, 2012 by cdj00

[zman9810]

The new Legacy Bank  building is a surprise- I haven't seen anything about it until now. Anybody know if it will be a small branch or something similar to the Legacy building on Sunset in Springdale?

[comreguy]

The new Legacy Bank  building is a surprise- I haven't seen anything about it until now. Anybody know if it will be a small branch or something similar to the Legacy building on Sunset in Springdale?

 

The Georges have owned that land for a while and always planned to build a branch of their bank their. I belive it will be a mid-sized branch but their corporate offices will remain in Springdale.

[zman9810]

Thanks for the info. By my count that makes 8 banks with a presence on Joyce Blvd with several other finance related businesses close by. Fayetteville should start promoting that stretch as The Financial District.

[zman9810]

Casey's General Store is making an offer for part of the old Mexican Original property in south Fayetteville. They are offering $900,000 for less than 2 acres of the 11 acre property and even offering to chip in $100,000 towards demolishing the old plant. The city is now paying to keep the building secure with little success. With the sale the city would end up with a lot ot sell for profit and another lot to use for municipal purposes.

This seems like a no-brainer that accepted after negotiation and proper examination of the offer. Taking an eyesore and possible liability and turning it into a profit and tax revenue producing business is an opportunity that doesn't come along that often.

[Mith242]

Casey's General Store is making an offer for part of the old Mexican Original property in south Fayetteville. They are offering $900,000 for less than 2 acres of the 11 acre property and even offering to chip in $100,000 towards demolishing the old plant. The city is now paying to keep the building secure with little success. With the sale the city would end up with a lot ot sell for profit and another lot to use for municipal purposes.

This seems like a no-brainer that accepted after negotiation and proper examination of the offer. Taking an eyesore and possible liability and turning it into a profit and tax revenue producing business is an opportunity that doesn't come along that often.

Yeah, just wondering what will happen to the rest of the property.  But it does seem like a good time for the city to have something happen to that property.  Different people have had several ideas for that property but nothing ever really panned out. 

[cdj00]

Ground work has started at the new Arvest Bank location on College Ave., Apple Blossum Brewery is coming to Zion Rd. and the U of A widened a sidewalk, planted trees, and put down some new sod in front of the international student building on Garland Ave. It looks a lot better and makes that area feel "complete".

 

Progress on the Crossover Rd. widening project and more traffic counts for Garland Ave.

 

I'm interested to see if we will see some work done by the state to widen Razorback Rd in the near future. Before the start of football season?

[Mith242]

Ground work has started at the new Arvest Bank location on College Ave., Apple Blossum Brewery is coming to Zion Rd. and the U of A widened a sidewalk, planted trees, and put down some new sod in front of the international student building on Garland Ave. It looks a lot better and makes that area feel "complete".

 

Progress on the Crossover Rd. widening project and more traffic counts for Garland Ave.

 

I'm interested to see if we will see some work done by the state to widen Razorback Rd in the near future. Before the start of football season?

I'd be surprised to see much if any work done on Razorback Rd before football season.  They've been working on Garland for quite a while now and haven't even actually started the actual road widening yet.  For that matter, I've been wondering when the actual road widening will start. 

[zman9810]

I remember the AHTD offered to widen Razorback Road through campus but the University declined it several years back. Did I miss a new plan to widen it?

[wmr]

Yes, the widening of Razorback Road is going to happen through campus.  It will be done in phases, and eventually will include Maple Street, up to its intersection with Garland.  There are going to be new stoplights at Maple/Razorback and at Razorback/Meadow I believe.

[Mith242]

Casey's General Store is making an offer for part of the old Mexican Original property in south Fayetteville. They are offering $900,000 for less than 2 acres of the 11 acre property and even offering to chip in $100,000 towards demolishing the old plant. The city is now paying to keep the building secure with little success. With the sale the city would end up with a lot ot sell for profit and another lot to use for municipal purposes.

This seems like a no-brainer that accepted after negotiation and proper examination of the offer. Taking an eyesore and possible liability and turning it into a profit and tax revenue producing business is an opportunity that doesn't come along that often.

Originally I thought I had heard about a Kum N Go for that location.  But when you posted this I thought maybe I had just misheard.  But apparently they're also interested in this property as well.  The city might even be able to get a little extra money out of this now that there's two companies interested.  And now that I've heard more about the condition of the current structure, it really does sound like a good time for the city to get out of this property.  If the city really had some good solid ideas for this property maybe I could see them holding onto it.  But I haven't really heard any.

[zman9810]

I hadn't realized that Kum N Go had been negotiating for a while with the city and Casey's came in and outbid them at the last minute. The city went from having an expensive eyesore to deal with to a money making proposition. Hopefully they play it right. I wonder what happens if the bids turn out to be exactly the same? How does the city choose without being unfair and maybe putting in self in legal trouble?

[Mith242]

I hadn't realized that Kum N Go had been negotiating for a while with the city and Casey's came in and outbid them at the last minute. The city went from having an expensive eyesore to deal with to a money making proposition. Hopefully they play it right. I wonder what happens if the bids turn out to be exactly the same? How does the city choose without being unfair and maybe putting in self in legal trouble?

I've gotten the impression the city might simply take whover's bid is the highest.  But I suppose if the city thinks one company might be better for that area, they might go ahead and lean towards it.  But as you said, not sure if there could be any legal trouble with something like that. 

[mzweig]

I prefer Kum and Go, in spite of their wacky name! M

[UrbanArkie]

QT needs to move in on this area. Caseys belongs in small midwest towns. Kum and Go is welcome here, but doesnt compare to the Quick and Tasty.

Remeber when EZ Mart was the craze here? That back so long ago i think it was around the last time i ate at a Panda.