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College Avenue Developments


mzweig

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We really need an independant theater in Fayetteville. I have a friend that really wants to put one in but has concerns. The old Razorback would just be too big for an indie, most only have 1 or 2 screens at least that is what we found doing research on it.

Like zman said the price they are asking is outragous. I don't see how they will ever sell it if they don't either lower the price or at least take a much lower offer. So I would expect it to sit there for a long time in our current market.

I agree, Albuquerque tried a larger theater like this and it ended up failing. I also think having it closer to downtown or Dickson would work out better as well.

Hope something shakes out on this parcel sometime in the next couple of years. A piece of property this large doesn't go on the market in the middle of town very often.

Unfortunately there's lots of property available along College Ave. I believe someone stated one problem with the former Malco is that it's on a floodplain and the site will have to be upgraded before anything can be developed.

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Yeah, it was the old Malco Twin Cinema. I can't remember when exactly closed--I'm guessing 10-12+ years ago. Growing up here, I saw a lot of movies there. I always remember it seeming dated, but it had these really cool deep, soft seats that you could rock waaaay back in, almost rocking chair like. Oh and those hideous turquoise blue-ish curtains throughout. :lol:

I tell you the ideal location for an independant theater would have been the location of the old Ozark Theater (located just North of the old Washington County Courthouse). It was such a cool theater, complete with a balcony. They just don't make them like that anymore. It even had that small parking garage attached to it. The building was sold long after the theater closed and it had fallen into disrepair. I was so disappointed when the new owners essentially razed the back portion of the theater and renovated the front to make office space. A restored historic Ozark Theater would have been such an asset to the arts and entertainment scene in downtown Fayetteville. Oh well.

Yeah I heard something about this last year. I heard they had considered trying to restore the original facade but it was in such bad shape it simply wasn't feasible. I think that was also the problem with the back part of the structure as well. It would have been great to try to restore it. But it was in such bad shape it wasn't economically feasible. I think it would have taken the city getting involved with finding a way to get the public involved with coming up with big funds. Unfortunately that's not an option now though. I've seen some cities restore their old theaters only to have them mainly sit empty most of the year.

Just from looking at the site, I'd say there's at least 3 acres there. Thats not really small for in-town land. If the price were lowered just a bit, and the place was subdivided, you could turn a profit selling +/- one acre lots for fast food or fast casual restaurants easily at around $17-$19.00 psf.

On the other hand, if we had a local developer who wasn't up to his neck in debt and/or projects, a really great mixed use could bring in rents perpetually and pay a nice note for a long time.

The lot may seem smaller than it is, but you have to imagine the lot without the big Malco building sitting there. Its actually pretty large.

Considering its in MBY, I think the city should buy it, bulldoze it off, expose the creek/ditch that runs under it, create a large pond in the middle and plant trees all the way around. :P

That a very nice idea. Not sure how much money something like that would take, but it's still a nice idea.

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Yeah, I just went to the Washington County website & checked out the property records. Apparently the site is comprised of two adjacent parcels, one being 2.45 acres (where the theatre & most of the parking lot sits) and one being .625 acres (southernmost parking lot, close to Arvest & retail center) -- just a little over 3 acres, total. According to the records Malco sold the site on Feb. 2, 2006 to a group called College Properties, LLC, for $2.1 Million.

According to Arkansashighways.com, the average daily traffic counts in that area for 2006 are around 32,500 per day. Pretty darned good... But, honestly, from what I see on MLS listings you can buy land on Joyce for about the same price per acre. Which seems to be much more of a hot spot.

Honestly, I'd like to see the city buy it as well -- it could be a great green space, however with the budget issues they're having these days I'm thinking it would probably be a hard sell... ?

Yeah it would be great to get the city involved but they recently purchased some land behind Evelyn Hills. Like you said, with the recent setbacks in funds the city isn't likely to try to go out and spend that amount of money. But it would be a good idea for the city if something could be worked out. College Ave is becoming more and more of an eyesore. So far things seem to be getting worse rather than better. I think the city will have to find some way to step in. They're going to be working on the section of College near downtown starting next year. But it would be great if we could get something started a little more in the center of the city as well.

The pricing of the theatre property is a perfect example of what is wrong here real estate-wise. The asking price for the property is twice its appraised value. If it doesn't sell, people will say "the market in Fayetteville for commercial property is bad." This is ridiculous! It's pure greed.

I called on the gas station and house that are being sold on the corner of College and Lafayette today. It has been for sale forever--the station looks pretty bad--the house could be fixed up. A while back this was going to be another unneeded condo project but the developers got cold feet and pulled the plug. So I am looking to buy and thought that perhaps I could redo the house, cut that off from the the site, then redo the gas station and make it look good enough to either sell, rent, or use for my own little collection of classic cars. A couple years ago I looked into this property and they wanted something like $525 or $550K for it. NOW, after it hasn't sold and looks worse, they want something like $675K for it! What is the deal with these sellers??? This is insanity. It, too, will sit and rot, and look worse all the time. Meanwhile, more used cars are parked there and offered for sale. Love those great used car lots!

People want too much for their properties. That is the case up and down College. They are all asking twice what these properties are worth and as a result, few sell.

Yes unfortunately then we have to sit and wait till they get desperate to sell while nothing happens there.

i agree. property around here -- especially commercial -- is way too high. i've heard that that lot is both the gas station and the house behind it. but for 650 k i can't fathom what would be worth building there to justify buying at that price. it is pure greed and pure delusion on the seller's part. the only thing i could see making it worth while would be to have a whole foods build on the site and make rent from that -- if such an arrangement could be made. sellers asking such high prices will only slow development in this town. and something way cooler than a gas station could be built there. i say build some retail and restaurants on that lot and turn the beloved marvin's into a whole foods. i realize this is getting off topic, but i'm starving. i can't eat right in this town b/c of its lack of decent grocers. wal-mart is vile. the only decent thing is a mixture of ONF, IGA on the corner of laf. & college, and harps on weddington. but even then one has to go to the liquor store for spirits. in a modern town good food and drink can be found under one roof at a decent price.

It's a great location. That area just west of Washington-Willow is underutilized in my opinion.

I'd also like to see something happen with that IGA as well. They don't really have the money to improve that store but it's also probably their best store by far so they aren't likely to get rid of it either.

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Couldn't agree more. A Whole Foods or even Trader Joes (not quite a whole grocery store, but close) would do wonderful there, it would also be a shot in the arm to the downtown condo market I think.

As to the good food and drink, current Washington county law prohibits that somewhat...there would have to be a separate entrance for the liquor side of things. I don't know how strong the support is to keep it that way though, I imagine there would be a fight, but a lot of people would also want grocery stores to be able to at least sell wine and beer (anything not classified as wine or beer, which actually includes a lot of beer and all liquors, can't be sold in a grocery store under Arkansas law).

Yeah I don't see things changing. We have to remember we're in the same county as a certain very large church to the north of us. They have a lot of pull and it would be a hard fight.

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Wow, this topic was quite busy while I was gone. UP finally stopped me from replying to so many posts here. :lol:

Anyway I wanted to see what people thought about what areas of College Ave need to be addressed first. I do know the city wants something done but doesn't have the funds to try to tackle everything at once. It's frustrating to see the old Malco sitting there, but I do think perhaps having the city work on the section of College Ave closer to the downtown first makes sense. But the bad thing is that you have sections further north that probably won't improve anytime soon. I wonder if there's something the city could do to provide incentives to developers since the city can't address everything firsthand. It seems to me that some of these people simply bought it to flip it to someone else. But prices have exceeded what the property is really worth and now the market has slowed down. Now they don't really want these properties but also don't want to sell them off because they probably paid too much. But now we're stuck in a pattern where College Ave seems to be dying and now it's not a place where developers want to do business. Just seems to me that the city has to find some way to provide incentives or find some development to locate somewhere along College Ave to help spur activity from other developers. Otherwise most of College Ave is going to sit the way it is now.

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Reading all this discussion has me thinking. What the City of Fayetteville ought to do is buy the gas station and house at the corner of Lafayette and College, and turn that into a small city park for Washington-Willow residents. It would dress up the corner there, create a "welcome" to the neighborhood, and provide a real functional need for the families who live in this section of town. This would be a good use of taxpayer dollars. I am going to suggest it to Coody.

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Reading all this discussion has me thinking. What the City of Fayetteville ought to do is buy the gas station and house at the corner of Lafayette and College, and turn that into a small city park for Washington-Willow residents. It would dress up the corner there, create a "welcome" to the neighborhood, and provide a real functional need for the families who live in this section of town. This would be a good use of taxpayer dollars. I am going to suggest it to Coody.

Thats a great idea. I don't know how the city feels about taking commercial property like that off the tax rolls, but I like the idea nonetheless. Overall it would likely improve property values in the immediate area, so over time, the city and school district wouldn't lose that much.

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Yeah it's not a bad idea. I have had hopes of more infill and think that would be a good spot for it. But at this point anything would be an improvement. Besides there's a need for green space as well. I believe Wilson Park is the nearest park to that historical district. Which has it's own historical district around it. You'll have to let us know what Coody says about it.

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Reading all this discussion has me thinking. What the City of Fayetteville ought to do is buy the gas station and house at the corner of Lafayette and College, and turn that into a small city park for Washington-Willow residents. It would dress up the corner there, create a "welcome" to the neighborhood, and provide a real functional need for the families who live in this section of town. This would be a good use of taxpayer dollars. I am going to suggest it to Coody.

While you are at it, would you ask if he is running for re-election? Inquiring minds would like to know.

I'd vote for him :excl:

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Yeah it's not a bad idea. I have had hopes of more infill and think that would be a good spot for it. But at this point anything would be an improvement. Besides there's a need for green space as well. I believe Wilson Park is the nearest park to that historical district. Which has it's own historical district around it. You'll have to let us know what Coody says about it.

Dan said, "Great idea. Can I use your credit card?" He added that he thinks that corner will redevelop soon and it will be a lot better.

M

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Dan said, "Great idea. Can I use your credit card?" He added that he thinks that corner will redevelop soon and it will be a lot better.

M

Oh well, it was worth a try. I imagine till the city starts getting more revenue back in, the chances of them getting involved in something like that is slim. Makes me wonder if that land had now become available behind Evelyn Hills if the city wouldn't buy it now.

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Dan said, "Great idea. Can I use your credit card?" He added that he thinks that corner will redevelop soon and it will be a lot better.

M

Thats funny.

I think that the upcoming reconstruction of College Ave will have a large impact on developments in this area. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

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The "Barber Effect".

Or something. I just got a contract nailed down on another house to competely redo today. This place was sold at auction for about $65k, left to rot for some time, and I had to pay $105K for it! What does that say about me? All told, tho, in this market, I still think I can redo it and make a few bucks. It's hard to buy in downtown Fayetteville, folks!

M

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Old Malco Update:

Noticed a crew removing the theater seats yesterday, and piling them into a dumpster.

Also noticed some stakes with orange tape on the east side of the property in the ROW and on the west side in a ditch.

Not sure if this means anything is happening. Maybe the owners are just doing a little site prep to make the building more attractive to potential buyers.

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Old Malco Update:

Noticed a crew removing the theater seats yesterday, and piling them into a dumpster.

Also noticed some stakes with orange tape on the east side of the property in the ROW and on the west side in a ditch.

Not sure if this means anything is happening. Maybe the owners are just doing a little site prep to make the building more attractive to potential buyers.

A church meeting in there earlier in the year had to leave because they were told the theater was closing down I think.

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Old Malco Update:

Noticed a crew removing the theater seats yesterday, and piling them into a dumpster.

Also noticed some stakes with orange tape on the east side of the property in the ROW and on the west side in a ditch.

Not sure if this means anything is happening. Maybe the owners are just doing a little site prep to make the building more attractive to potential buyers.

Possible. There was a meeting amongst black Range Rovers there a little bit back. It looked funny, and I have no idea who the people were, just that they both drove the same car. One was very big on hand movements and was either showing off features of the building or sharing ideas with the other one. I should have just stopped by and asked what they were doing. It might have been amusing.

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Possible. There was a meeting amongst black Range Rovers there a little bit back. It looked funny, and I have no idea who the people were, just that they both drove the same car. One was very big on hand movements and was either showing off features of the building or sharing ideas with the other one. I should have just stopped by and asked what they were doing. It might have been amusing.

From what I just heard, they are going to be having bands/concerts in the building. They are currently ripping the theaters out and I guess doing some remodeling. I am sorry that I don't know much more at this time. I hope to hear more detail at some time.

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A church meeting in there earlier in the year had to leave because they were told the theater was closing down I think.

Wrong Malco. I'm talking about the one on College, not in NWA Mall.

From what I just heard, they are going to be having bands/concerts in the building. They are currently ripping the theaters out and I guess doing some remodeling. I am sorry that I don't know much more at this time. I hope to hear more detail at some time.

Ouch, that will stink for the neighborhood.

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Well, I doubt it will be loud. There are so many noise ordinances that you should not have to worry too much.

Yeah the noise from the music isn't the issue as much as large volumes of traffic cutting through our street from Gregg Avenue.

We have no sidewalks or speed tables, and people tend to speed because they know there isn't a cop waiting for them on our street.

Late night concerts which funnel a lot of loud traffic into a quiet residential area are my concern.

You also wouldn't believe the volume of trash we pick up weekly out of the ditches around our street from people cutting through off Gregg.

Speed tables would solve most of my concerns, and we've already asked for them. We will see.

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There is definitely something happening at the old Malco on College.

Saw an electrician there late last night working in the old lobby with the lights on, and I saw one of those mysterious black Range Rovers there yesterday afternoon as well.

I'm disappointed that it appears to be only a re-tread of the old building and not something new.

I just hope that whatever it is is quality and doesn't become a crime magnet for my 'hood.

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There is definitely something happening at the old Malco on College.

Saw an electrician there late last night working in the old lobby with the lights on, and I saw one of those mysterious black Range Rovers there yesterday afternoon as well.

I'm disappointed that it appears to be only a re-tread of the old building and not something new.

I just hope that whatever it is is quality and doesn't become a crime magnet for my 'hood.

A black Range Rover again! I love it. I thought it was funny when I first saw them the other day. My old boss in Mtn. Home had a black Range Rover (as did his son and daughter in law) and there was always a slightly sinister atmosphere to it, regardless of how much I liked the guy.

The possibility still stands that the building isn't being sold yet, it might just be a temporary fix.

Your neighborhood is probably safe, haha, I can't see it becoming a seedy club or something similar at that price.

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