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Fayetteville, Arkansas


Mith242

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For anyone who didn't see the story- the city is replacing the small cherry trees planted during the square renovation with larger cherry

trees.

The current trees are about 5 ft. tall and the new ones will be around 10 ft tall. Great idea!

NWA Times article

Thanks for that update. I was one of the ones making a big deal about it. I'm glad they're going to put in some bigger trees and that they'll be putting in cherry trees to replace the previous ones. I didn't think the old ones were in that bad of shape, but I'm no tree expert. While I do appreciate the cherry trees I sorta wish they wouldn't focus on just one type of tree. Maybe half cherry and half something else. Maybe make the other half something that would provide nice fall foliage or just something a little different.

I missed part of it but there was some sort of mention on the tv news this morning about Van Asche being made part of a development plan. I'm assuming they're talking about the plan focusing around the Fulbright Expressway.

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Thanks for that update. I was one of the ones making a big deal about it. I'm glad they're going to put in some bigger trees and that they'll be putting in cherry trees to replace the previous ones. I didn't think the old ones were in that bad of shape, but I'm no tree expert. While I do appreciate the cherry trees I sorta wish they wouldn't focus on just one type of tree. Maybe half cherry and half something else. Maybe make the other half something that would provide nice fall foliage or just something a little different.

I missed part of it but there was some sort of mention on the tv news this morning about Van Asche being made part of a development plan. I'm assuming they're talking about the plan focusing around the Fulbright Expressway.

Van Asche is now eligible for federal funding as part of the Economic Development corridor so the city doesn't have to divert funds from the 15th Street project to pay for Van Asche improvements. Means that both projects can move forward now instead of waiting for more money. Both of these are important for increasing Fayetteville's tax base.

Welcome back Mith, been kinda slow around here..........

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Van Asche is now eligible for federal funding as part of the Economic Development corridor so the city doesn't have to divert funds from the 15th Street project to pay for Van Asche improvements. Means that both projects can move forward now instead of waiting for more money. Both of these are important for increasing Fayetteville's tax base.

Welcome back Mith, been kinda slow around here..........

Cool, thanks for the info. Yeah in some ways nice to be back. Although it seemed like things have been slow for a while. I've been hoping now that things are warming up more development news will start happening. But I guess we'll just have to see how the current market affects things.

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Sounds like Fayetteville might be trying to work with Johnson now instead of trying to annex a lot of it's land for a future expansion of Van Asche. I'm not sure of all the details. I also missed anything that might have occurred last week.

There was an article about both mayors meeting in the paper yesterday. They did not have a final agreement but said the meeting went well and lasted for two hours. I will surprised if they don't come to an agreement. It is really kind of up to the property owner to decide what city to be annexed into.

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There was an article about both mayors meeting in the paper yesterday. They did not have a final agreement but said the meeting went well and lasted for two hours. I will surprised if they don't come to an agreement. It is really kind of up to the property owner to decide what city to be annexed into.

Yeah, sounds like Fayetteville really is willing to work with Johnson by providing fire service and other improvements. Johnson's first reaction was understandably negative but I think they now they can see how it's a good deal for both cities.

On another subject- the county had their public input session on courthouse space yesterday. Because the meeting started at 4:30 I imagine it was hard for a lot of people to be able to attend- I didn't get away from work until almost 6:00 myself. The idea of a parking deck acroos from the current courthouse on land owned by St. Paul's Episcopal Church was discussed. Sounds like the church is against the idea- They might be amenable to office space there but not a parking deck.

I don't quite understand the church's position- it needs the parking just like the county does. Maybe suggesting having office space is a polite way to pretend to want to be a good neighbor but not actually do so. Parking decks now can be built so you hardly know they are decks with commercial space around them and decorative features that hide the use. Hopefully someone with the county can negotiate a deal with the church where both parties come out ahead. A deck at that spot would enable the county to use the space where the current deck is for office expansion and the church would have all the parking they will ever need right at their back door.

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Yeah, sounds like Fayetteville really is willing to work with Johnson by providing fire service and other improvements. Johnson's first reaction was understandably negative but I think they now they can see how it's a good deal for both cities.

On another subject- the county had their public input session on courthouse space yesterday. Because the meeting started at 4:30 I imagine it was hard for a lot of people to be able to attend- I didn't get away from work until almost 6:00 myself. The idea of a parking deck across from the current courthouse on land owned by St. Paul's Episcopal Church was discussed. Sounds like the church is against the idea- They might be amenable to office space there but not a parking deck.

I don't quite understand the church's position- it needs the parking just like the county does. Maybe suggesting having office space is a polite way to pretend to want to be a good neighbor but not actually do so. Parking decks now can be built so you hardly know they are decks with commercial space around them and decorative features that hide the use. Hopefully someone with the county can negotiate a deal with the church where both parties come out ahead. A deck at that spot would enable the county to use the space where the current deck is for office expansion and the church would have all the parking they will ever need right at their back door.

I don't know, maybe it's just the whole perception so many people have of any sign of anything remotely 'urban'. I guess a 'suburban' style office building doesn't bother them, but a parking garage conjures up images of urbanity right next door. While I can understand to a certain degree of people not wanting urbanity in some parts of the city. But I have a hard time understanding the people who don't want it anywhere, including downtown. While there are residential neighborhoods south of Dickson, along College Ave I feel that that area is pretty close to downtown.

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I was disappointed to learn that Tim Conklin, the city's Planning and Development Management Director, is leaving. I don't know him personally but saw him a number of times at the City Plan 2025 meetings. He played an important part in all of that and I liked his ideas. He says he ready for a new challenge and is heading to Springfield, MO. I can't help but wonder if Fayetteville's seemingly lack of interest in following the City Plan 2025 might have played a role in his decision. If it wasn't bad enough to have lots of residents complaining anytime some development was suggested anywhere near 'their' area of the city, the lack of support by some members of the City Council was. I'm hoping the city can continue to move forward and this isn't a sign that the city is giving up the City Plan 2025 ideas.

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The Fayetteville Planning Commission apparently will have a meeting today about rezoning the Walker Park neighborhood. I'm really curious to see if we can get this area of south Fayetteville changing and might help spark other redevelopment on the southside.

On a totally different note, the church that burned down last year on Rolling Hills Dr is apparently going for a modern look for their new church. I guess I'm just curious if some people are going to possibly have a problem with it being a non traditional design.

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On a totally different note, the church that burned down last year on Rolling Hills Dr is apparently going for a modern look for their new church. I guess I'm just curious if some people are going to possibly have a problem with it being a non traditional design.

Interesting! I'd like to see more contemporary architecture around here.

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Interesting! I'd like to see more contemporary architecture around here.

I just wanted to clarify. I don't have any problem with the church or trying to make a big deal of it. But just considering past incidents with religious buildings in Fayetteville it just seemed like it could be something that could raise some ire out of some residents. But this is a different neighborhood so maybe there won't be any problems.

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I just wanted to clarify. I don't have any problem with the church or trying to make a big deal of it. But just considering past incidents with religious buildings in Fayetteville it just seemed like it could be something that could raise some ire out of some residents. But this is a different neighborhood so maybe there won't be any problems.

I saw that rendering- very modern looking compared to what was there before. I like it although I'm not sure how well it will blend in with the rest of the area. Their gym out back is a very basic looking structure that I'm surprised ever got approved in Fayetteville. Maybe they will add some decoration to it.

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I saw that rendering- very modern looking compared to what was there before. I like it although I'm not sure how well it will blend in with the rest of the area. Their gym out back is a very basic looking structure that I'm surprised ever got approved in Fayetteville. Maybe they will add some decoration to it.

Yeah it was an interesting design. But I just get the feeling someone isn't going to like the change and complain to the city about it. That seems to be the 'Fayetteville' way to do it. :lol:

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The Fayetteville Planning Commission apparently will have a meeting today about rezoning the Walker Park neighborhood. I'm really curious to see if we can get this area of south Fayetteville changing and might help spark other redevelopment on the southside.

I guess it should be expected, but things didn't go well with the rezoning of the Walker Park neighborhood and it's been tabled. Apparently there's concerns in particular over the area of the east side of Willow between 6th and 7th. Basically the city is trying to allow some areas to receive some mixed use developments but others only want that area to be residential.

In some other news I found interesting. There's talk of installing solar panels on top of the Washington County Detention Center. It could save on the natural gas bill and might even pay for itself in 3 years. Even if that's an optimistic estimate it still sounds like it would be a good deal for the long term.

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Northwest Arkansas deemed "Recession Proof."

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/05/...essionproof.txt

Interesting article. It is true, Wal-mart does do well when the US economy is down. Then when the economy is good other aspects of the metro kick in. I'm not sure I'd call it recession proof, but it is an interesting dynamic.

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We're definitely not recession "proof", that would imply that regardless of economic conditions, the people here would always have the same standard of living or same quality of jobs, which isn't true. We do get affected by economic troubles, some jobs are bound to be loss in a recession that aren't likely to be replaced with the same quality of jobs immediately, however, the entire NWA economy is pretty recession resistant, as we do have elements that do better in boom times than others, and segments that flourish in hard times. I think it's worth noting that no one in that article, including the economics professor and the streetsman data services employee thought we were "recession proof", and I agree that the title is a bit unrealistic, but it is nice to know the cities aren't going to lose huge numbers of jobs and result in population loss during a recession or downturn.

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We're definitely not recession "proof", that would imply that regardless of economic conditions, the people here would always have the same standard of living or same quality of jobs, which isn't true. We do get affected by economic troubles, some jobs are bound to be loss in a recession that aren't likely to be replaced with the same quality of jobs immediately, however, the entire NWA economy is pretty recession resistant, as we do have elements that do better in boom times than others, and segments that flourish in hard times. I think it's worth noting that no one in that article, including the economics professor and the streetsman data services employee thought we were "recession proof", and I agree that the title is a bit unrealistic, but it is nice to know the cities aren't going to lose huge numbers of jobs and result in population loss during a recession or downturn.

I think that's a pretty good assessment.

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We're definitely not recession "proof", that would imply that regardless of economic conditions, the people here would always have the same standard of living or same quality of jobs, which isn't true. We do get affected by economic troubles, some jobs are bound to be loss in a recession that aren't likely to be replaced with the same quality of jobs immediately, however, the entire NWA economy is pretty recession resistant, as we do have elements that do better in boom times than others, and segments that flourish in hard times. I think it's worth noting that no one in that article, including the economics professor and the streetsman data services employee thought we were "recession proof", and I agree that the title is a bit unrealistic, but it is nice to know the cities aren't going to lose huge numbers of jobs and result in population loss during a recession or downturn.

I would add on that Wal-Mart tends to do as well or better when the economy is doing poorly versus other retail companies and that is in NWA's favor as well.

Still, "recession proof" is an interesting phrasing as we've already seen the construction industry and banks get hammered pretty good.

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A friend of mine in sales and I were having this discussion a few days ago, about the little Wal-Mart bubble we live in up here.

Aside from the real estate market (which everyone who was paying attention KNEW was overbuilt a few years ago) things aren't that bad in NWA. Aside froms some smaller construction firms and speculative real estate ventures, most people are trucking right along. The money is still flowing into Benton County, and everybody is still getting a paycheck.

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A friend of mine in sales and I were having this discussion a few days ago, about the little Wal-Mart bubble we live in up here.

Aside from the real estate market (which everyone who was paying attention KNEW was overbuilt a few years ago) things aren't that bad in NWA. Aside froms some smaller construction firms and speculative real estate ventures, most people are trucking right along. The money is still flowing into Benton County, and everybody is still getting a paycheck.

Right on. And even the real estate market is proving to be better than many thought.....

M

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The one problem I see with the real estate market isn't the glut in homes, I think they'll eventually sell. But that it will now be harder for developers to borrow money for 'big' projects. Until that changes I just don't know if we'll see hardly any larger developments. We will probably still have some large residential neighborhoods that can be built over a number of years. But I don't know if we'll see anything else like the Lofts at Underwood Plaza for quite a while.

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