College Avenue Developments

[comreguy]

Its about parking. Maybe they were using some of the parking next door where Kum & Go is going. I saw more work going on at the former B of A building at Evelyn Hills. Looks like they were ripped up some cables, or something around the drive thru areas. I don't' see for sale signs anymore so I am thinking that building changed hands.

Einstein Bagels is taking the Bank of America building.

[Mith242]

Powerhouse Fitness has opened up in Evelyn Hills. They remodeled the former Pulse Fitness adjacent to ONF. They actually remodeled the basement of that half of the building, too. It contains weights and an MMA area with an octagon. Its pretty crazy. Its actually quite a large gym now, almost twice as large as before. Family Dollar also opened up in Evelyn Hills in th spot left vacant when Chuck E Cheese moved. That shopping center is definitely coming into vogue a little more lately. I think Ozark Natural Foods doing their extensive remodel and buying their building has brought a lot of more traffic and instilled confidence in tenants there. Lots of long term leases in there.

Good to hear that Evelyn Hills is bringing in more tenants over there.

Einstein Bagels is taking the Bank of America building.

Ah, thanks for the info. I've heard of them and actually see quite of few of them out west when I'm visiting family. But I've never stopped in to see what they're like.

[comreguy]

Good to hear that Evelyn Hills is bringing in more tenants over there.

Ah, thanks for the info. I've heard of them and actually see quite of few of them out west when I'm visiting family. But I've never stopped in to see what they're like.

They will be an excellent addition to that part of town, have great coffee. Just hope they can do enough business there to last.

[wmr]

They will be an excellent addition to that part of town, have great coffee. Just hope they can do enough business there to last.

Yeah hopefully they'll be able to last. The closest coffee to that area, other than Rick's is Baba Boudan's.

My hope is that ONF brings enough of their demographic into that parking lot every day that they will be on everybody's list to try out. If they can make it there for a few years, maybe that will encourage some other good places to make a go of it Midtown. The chains are on Dickson now, so maybe we are entering a new phase where the center of town is getting on the radar of the big nationals again.

Thanks for the information you bring the forum. I see those three properties down the hill lined up side by side where the EZ Mart, Acropolis and Sonic used to be. I also notice that the big field behind the gas station is for sale as well. If someone could put together a deal and make some decent lease space out of those parcels, it would really help the look and image of that part of town. I wonder if the ask price on those properties is too high for now. it just seems like a great redevelopment opportunity, lots of College Avenue frontage, a prominent location, and plenty of room behind for all the parking any business would ever need.

Either way, another older facade in midtown getting a facelift and a new tenant is good for that section of town. The shiney new McDonald's also helps bring up the image of North College. I hope some of those listed properties shake out and get redeveloped soon.

[comreguy]

Yeah hopefully they'll be able to last. The closest coffee to that area, other than Rick's is Baba Boudan's.

My hope is that ONF brings enough of their demographic into that parking lot every day that they will be on everybody's list to try out. If they can make it there for a few years, maybe that will encourage some other good places to make a go of it Midtown. The chains are on Dickson now, so maybe we are entering a new phase where the center of town is getting on the radar of the big nationals again.

Thanks for the information you bring the forum. I see those three properties down the hill lined up side by side where the EZ Mart, Acropolis and Sonic used to be. I also notice that the big field behind the gas station is for sale as well. If someone could put together a deal and make some decent lease space out of those parcels, it would really help the look and image of that part of town. I wonder if the ask price on those properties is too high for now. it just seems like a great redevelopment opportunity, lots of College Avenue frontage, a prominent location, and plenty of room behind for all the parking any business would ever need.

Either way, another older facade in midtown getting a facelift and a new tenant is good for that section of town. The shiney new McDonald's also helps bring up the image of North College. I hope some of those listed properties shake out and get redeveloped soon.

It's going to take a while for people to see that area stablize before jumping into speculative development. Banks still have to come around to lending money too. I wouldn't expect much more activity in that area for a little while, although the progress made there over the past 6 months has been welcomed. Also, as UAMS grows, more businesses will follow.

[thewizard16]

It's going to take a while for people to see that area stablize before jumping into speculative development. Banks still have to come around to lending money too. I wouldn't expect much more activity in that area for a little while, although the progress made there over the past 6 months has been welcomed. Also, as UAMS grows, more businesses will follow.

That's true- I hadn't really thought about the potential for the student/faculty customer base right at that part of town. Hopefully Einstein Bagels (and the other businesses of course) will be frequented by the UAMS crowd since it is so close. Their enrollment will jump up a bit this fall with the first larger group of medical students and the first group of pharmacy students coming up, and will double (overall) next year.

[Mith242]

That's true- I hadn't really thought about the potential for the student/faculty customer base right at that part of town. Hopefully Einstein Bagels (and the other businesses of course) will be frequented by the UAMS crowd since it is so close. Their enrollment will jump up a bit this fall with the first larger group of medical students and the first group of pharmacy students coming up, and will double (overall) next year.

Honestly I never really thought about that aspect of UAMS either. I wanted UAMS here for other reasons. But that will eventually be a nice bonus as well.

[thewizard16]

Honestly I never really thought about that aspect of UAMS either. I wanted UAMS here for other reasons. But that will eventually be a nice bonus as well.

It's not ever going to be a huge student base (250-300 final count most likely), but as they build out more and have more on-site faculty and staff, that will be that many more people working/learning/studying/etc. in that area that eat lunch/dinner/snacks somewhere in town. If it's anything like the UAMS students here, most eat lunch off campus or in the hospital cafeteria (which they don't really have at the UAMS NW building), and often study on campus and eat dinner somewhere near campus. Many people study at nearby coffee shops, etc. too so it could be a good steady customer base for restaurants and coffee shops on that stretch of College. As of this fall there should be about 70 full time students at UAMS NW, and that number should go up to about 128-135 next year, and probably up again a bit the year after.

[wmr]

It's not ever going to be a huge student base (250-300 final count most likely), but as they build out more and have more on-site faculty and staff, that will be that many more people working/learning/studying/etc. in that area that eat lunch/dinner/snacks somewhere in town. If it's anything like the UAMS students here, most eat lunch off campus or in the hospital cafeteria (which they don't really have at the UAMS NW building), and often study on campus and eat dinner somewhere near campus. Many people study at nearby coffee shops, etc. too so it could be a good steady customer base for restaurants and coffee shops on that stretch of College. As of this fall there should be about 70 full time students at UAMS NW, and that number should go up to about 128-135 next year, and probably up again a bit the year after.

The city needs to do all it can to get more investment into the local branch of UAMS. Just look at any list of the highest paid state employees. UAMS employees dominate the list. We would benefit greatly by having more of those high paying jobs in Fayetteville.

I noticed some work being done on the north side of the building that houses Racha Thai on College Avenue. It almost appeared as if they were constructing a new entrance on that side. That side faces La Huerta. Maybe that is what the CUP was about.

[wmr]

Not really on College Ave, but heres a rendering of the VA addition underway:

[zman9810]

Not really on College Ave, but heres a rendering of the VA addition underway:

Thanks for that rendering- I've wondered for years what it was supposed to look like. It is somewhat hidden away- I had hoped it would be more visible on the skyline from the north.

[wmr]

Thanks for that rendering- I've wondered for years what it was supposed to look like. It is somewhat hidden away- I had hoped it would be more visible on the skyline from the north.

I noticed that the roofline is visible from Ozark Natural Foods today. That is why I searched. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it isn't going to be a nondescript box.

[wmr]

Looks like the CUP parking variance by La Huerta is so they can construct a 1000 sq ft patio deck on the north side of the building. Thats pretty cool.

[wmr]

Does anybody know what is going on at the former auto shop that sits across from Starlight Skatium? They are gutting that building and have a construction fence up.

Also, there is a ton of stuff going on College Avenue right now with the new Einstein's, new McDonald's, new Kum & Go, and new Feltner Bros for someone who is skilled with a camera to check out.

[mzweig]

Does anybody know what is going on at the former auto shop that sits across from Starlight Skatium? They are gutting that building and have a construction fence up.

Also, there is a ton of stuff going on College Avenue right now with the new Einstein's, new McDonald's, new Kum & Go, and new Feltner Bros for someone who is skilled with a camera to check out.

I wasn't thrilled with the Kum and Go when I first heard about it but think even tho it is a gas station/convenience store, it is better than what was there by far. Feltner brothers doesn't look to be that super but I guess anything is better than an empty storefront. I have been wondering about the old oil change/rental place you mentioned and what that will be. They are spending some dough over there. I'm just kicking myself for not buying that building--I always wanted it!

College is still a mess. I wish Dan Coody's plan to turn it into a divided parkway that was more walkable would have been implemented. Then I think you could see some people spending money over there on their properties.

Mark

[iowhogs]

Here are two photos from the repaving of College Avenue I took on July 29, 2011.

http://www.bluemelon.com/bjrush/collegeavenuepaving#page-0/photo-1586531

[zman9810]

Here are before and after images of the N. College/ Township SE intersection. I think the KumNGo is an improvement although it does have access issues. If traffic is backed up from the light it is hard to get out and next to impossible to enter from the north. It really needs access to Township.

[Mith242]

Yeah I've got to agree with you. It's certainly a lot better than what was there. I also think access to Township would help as well. Walgreens has access to Township. Maybe the city thought it's access on Township would be even closer to the stoplight and cause problems.

[wmr]

Does anybody know anything about the old Papa Murphy's building next to Foghorn's on College? I think I saw some big demo work going on there recently.

I also saw utility work taking place near the old car dealership SwC of College and Township. Is that still slated to be a new bank?

[comreguy]

Does anybody know anything about the old Papa Murphy's building next to Foghorn's on College? I think I saw some big demo work going on there recently.

I also saw utility work taking place near the old car dealership SwC of College and Township. Is that still slated to be a new bank?

Arvest Bank still plans to build a branch at that corner.

[wmr]

The old EZ mart just south of BK on College Avenue is being ripped up.

At first I just thought they might be re-branding it, but yesterday I drove by and they had removed the canopy and it appeared they might be prepping to remove the underground tanks.

I'm not suprised to see this location suffer and close after Kum & Go opened.

Anybody know if there are plans for that spot?

I saw that Passages, (the hippie store) that had been in a small building just south of UAMSNW on the east side of College has closed. The other night I noticed a crew in that building cleaning or painting or both.

Anybody heard about anything new going in there?

[strmchsr77]

I believe Passages is moving to a new location but I could be wrong and I can't remember what is going in that location. So I'm not much help...

[wmr]

I noticed today that there was some work going on at the old Sonic near Evelyn Hills. That spot has been for sale for a while, and it appears they are scrapping the big Sonic awnings or drive in part, or whatever you call it. Lots of metal there. Hopefully that will get some new interest in that property.

[wmr]

There is a new pet supply store on College Avenue, on the west side of College, just north of Walgreens at Township. I think its called Whole Pet or something like that.

The old Passages just south of North Street is now a Tattoo parlor.

The old EZ Mart just south of Burger King has the pumps and awning removed and is for lease.

The old Papa Murphy's next to Slim Chickens is being renovated. Saw new insulation wrap going up there today.

[wmr]

Saw a sign this morning showing "Shipley's Donuts" going into the former Sonic location just south of Sycamore.