College Avenue Developments

[strmchsr77]

Wow I guess I never noticed that. Is this a bit off of College? Unless I somehow am making myself subconsciously ignore that, I can't believe I never noticed something like that over there. Although I do admit I have gotten to where I do ignore some areas of College.

I can't believe you have never seen this! This old junk yard has been there for over 50 years from what I understand. It was grandfathered in as the city expanded northward years ago. I don't know why it has never been cleaned up or redeveloped.

Looking at the arial of the area and the parcels, it appears to be owned by an individual and is just over 8 acres including the two little buildings that face college. Only about 3 or 4 acres has the junk and cars sitting on it. The rest just looks wooded.

[Mith242]

I can't believe you have never seen this! This old junk yard has been there for over 50 years from what I understand. It was grandfathered in as the city expanded northward years ago. I don't know why it has never been cleaned up or redeveloped.

Looking at the arial of the area and the parcels, it appears to be owned by an individual and is just over 8 acres including the two little buildings that face college. Only about 3 or 4 acres has the junk and cars sitting on it. The rest just looks wooded.

Maybe that's a stretch of College Ave, I don't tend to drive on. A lot of time I tend to use Gregg and then cut over to College when I have to. But still surely over the years I've driven by that area. Maybe I'm too busy looking at something else in that area.

[mzweig]

I've also wondered about that white house and how it can to be. I imagine it wouldn't be allowed to be built now. That would make a great location for some high end housing project

I wonder if the new townhouses will have a view of the lovely junkyard just north on College. I can't believe that thing is still there. You would think that someone would have made the owners a deal for the land by now- it's got to be worth a lot more than it's value as a junkyard. It's also strange that it doesn't violate some city ordinance, but it might be so old that it is grandfathered in.

This junkyard is so old it's amazing. Rod, you could take some fantastic photos there. There are cars 50-80 years old or more in there. It's very unusual that a place like this exists, especially right off of a major road like College. Old car mags would flip over the pictures.

[Mith242]

This junkyard is so old it's amazing. Rod, you could take some fantastic photos there. There are cars 50-80 years old or more in there. It's very unusual that a place like this exists, especially right off of a major road like College. Old car mags would flip over the pictures.

That is a thought. I wonder how they'd feel about someone taking pics.

[masons_dad1]

That is a thought. I wonder how they'd feel about someone taking pics.

I bet they'd let you take as many pics as you want... for a reasonable price that is. Its not every day you get to see rusted out heaps of metal.

[mzweig]

I bet they'd let you take as many pics as you want... for a reasonable price that is. Its not every day you get to see rusted out heaps of metal.

This is a very ususual junk yard, believe it or not. An intact junkyard that is more than 50 years old with nothing modern in it. It is surreal.

[cocothief]

Wow, the closing of the Old Malco has left a big, dark, empty spot on College Ave.

I can't say I don't like it. My 'hood has been very quiet and calm, with a lot less evening traffic since it closed. Its darker, too.

Now that the lights are off, I am more inclined to believe that this parcel would make an excellent location for a mixed-use development. Housing facing Green Acres Rd would have privacy and relative quiet in the evenings.

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.

[bubba72704]

Wow, the closing of the Old Malco has left a big, dark, empty spot on College Ave.

I can't say I don't like it. My 'hood has been very quiet and calm, with a lot less evening traffic since it closed. Its darker, too.

Now that the lights are off, I am more inclined to believe that this parcel would make an excellent location for a mixed-use development. Housing facing Green Acres Rd would have privacy and relative quiet in the evenings.

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.

It will definitely be interesting to see what goes in there. Personally, I'd love to see it re-open as an art house theatre. Maybe I'm wrong, but there aren't any places in northwest Arkansas that show indie/art house movies.... or at least movies that are targeted to an older demographic. Being so close to the cultural center of the region you would think there would be strong demand?

[cocothief]

It will definitely be interesting to see what goes in there. Personally, I'd love to see it re-open as an art house theatre. Maybe I'm wrong, but there aren't any places in northwest Arkansas that show indie/art house movies.... or at least movies that are targeted to an older demographic. Being so close to the cultural center of the region you would think there would be strong demand?

I have recently heard that one of the conditions of the sale to the current owners is that it could not be re-opened as a movie theater.

[zman9810]

I have recently heard that one of the conditions of the sale to the current owners is that it could not be re-opened as a movie theater.

I think it's too big to make it as a viable independent theater anyway. The upkeep costs would be out of an independent's means. I read somewhere that they are asking almost twice the appraised value for that property. One of the local media reported that the price is over $3 million and the appraised is just over $1.5 million. If that's the case it may sit empty for a long while.

[strmchsr77]

It will definitely be interesting to see what goes in there. Personally, I'd love to see it re-open as an art house theatre. Maybe I'm wrong, but there aren't any places in northwest Arkansas that show indie/art house movies.... or at least movies that are targeted to an older demographic. Being so close to the cultural center of the region you would think there would be strong demand?

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.

[bubba72704]

I think it's too big to make it as a viable independent theater anyway. The upkeep costs would be out of an independent's means. I read somewhere that they are asking almost twice the appraised value for that property. One of the local media reported that the price is over $3 million and the appraised is just over $1.5 million. If that's the case it may sit empty for a long while.

Kind of sad, really. And with a $3M pricetag I can't see how much of anything would be economically feasible... Not much acreage there to work with. Very hard to make the numbers work...

[acx_guy]

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.

Wasn't there an old theater behind that gas station at the corner of Rolling Hills and College. I believe Dixie Development had offices there at one point. If I remember correctly that was a 1 or 2 screen theater back in the 80's.

[OnDickson]

Wasn't there an old theater behind that gas station at the corner of Rolling Hills and College. I believe Dixie Development had offices there at one point. If I remember correctly that was a 1 or 2 screen theater back in the 80's.

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.

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.

[bagelw]

Isn't Malco going to close the theater in the NWA Mall? Or at least I thought I had heard that somewhere.

[strmchsr77]

Isn't Malco going to close the theater in the NWA Mall? Or at least I thought I had heard that somewhere.

I am sure they will when their lease is up. I just don't know how long that will be but I would expect it over the next few months unless something has changed.

[cocothief]

Kind of sad, really. And with a $3M pricetag I can't see how much of anything would be economically feasible... Not much acreage there to work with. Very hard to make the numbers work...

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.

[strmchsr77]

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.

It looks like it is 2.45 acres with the theater according to the property search. So it is a good sized chunk of land right in Mid-town and along College Ave. According to the listing there is 3.28 acres but I don't know what else it includes. Still, it can't be worth anywhere near the 3.8 million they are asking for it.

[bubba72704]

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.

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... ?

[cocothief]

Obviously College Properties LLC is just in it for a land flip deal. They aren't interested in developing it.

At $2.1 million, there is a lot of potential on that site for an end-user.

Hopefully they'll need to cash it out sometime soon and will lower their asking price.

As far as demographics and traffic counts, I'd wager that for restaurants at least, College Avenue is still considered a better location than Joyce Blvd.

FYI, I was kidding about the greenspace idea. That would never happen.

[mzweig]

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.

[jiggyK]

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.

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.

[jdevers]

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.

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).

[cocothief]

The least imaginative of these property place holder people you would think might have the foresight to call Starbucks or someone like that.

Do a simple multi-tenant building, let Starbucks have an endcap and some input on the design, then sign them to a 10-year lease at $25 per foot.

It happens, and that is what they are willing to pay generally.

Most all of these properties were purchased prior to the slowdown in real estate prices around here, and before the "Barber Bust". The pockets can't be very deep, otherwise they'd be looking into subdividing, or site prep to attract buyers. These are speculators, IMO.

Interest-only on $2.1 million isn't very fun to pay every quarter. I hope that since their rent-paying tenant Malco moved out, the owners of the old theater property will soon become motivated sellers.

[cowbreath]

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.

Yeah, I have to agree with you and mzweig. There is too much greed on college. If they want to sit on it for 10 years I guess that's their thing.

Also, I've noticed the lack of decent grocers around here. It's usually a mix/match in any community you live in to find all you need, but it is much worse around here. Selection and quality are definitely needed around here. I wouldn't touch Wal-mart meat and bakery with a 10 foot Target pole.