SPRINGDALE : Chamber hires park area planners
Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008
SPRINGDALE — The green fields surrounding Arvest Ballpark are ready to be developed into a 1, 000-acre campus with enough retail, residential and entertainment venues to make it the region’s signature destination for locals and out-oftowners, a Texas developer said Thursday.
Speaking to city officials and the inner circle of Springdale’s business community, architect Charles Hodges of Dallas said with planning and vision, the city can transform the pastures into a complex of offices, restaurants and sports facilities — all interconnected with green spaces and trails.
“The truth is, it’s one of the greatest pieces of property I’ve seen,” Hodges said, referring to the area south of U. S. 412, west of Interstate 540, east of Arkansas 112 and north of Johnson Road.
Blessed with a gentle topography, few landowners and close proximity to major traffic arteries, the Arvest Ballpark area is the “centerpiece of the table” in Northwest Arkansas, he said.
Hodges of Hodges and Associates, Brian Parker of Pizzuti Solutions, and Pete DiSalvo of Danter Co. announced at a luncheon at Springdale Country Club that the Springdale Chamber of Commerce has hired them to create a development plan for the ballpark area.
By late October the planners expect to have a preliminary design to present to Springdale decisions makers.
Perry Webb, chamber president, said the planning phase could cost as much as $ 250, 000, paid for by Springdale Tomorrow, a chamber fund created by private donations.
Webb, who helped bring the Northwest Arkansas Naturals to town, said he’s eager to see the next phase of development west of I-540. But he also said it will be worth the city’s time to be cautious and thoughtful as the process moves forward.
“We might have to bite the bullet and be patient,” he said.
Hodges and Parker conceded that the development can only move forward with more infrastructure, such as streets and drainage, but said proposals for a new tax are not being considered. Instead, tax incentives are expected to be used to entice private companies to finance improvements.
And, Webb added, those who look to benefit the most by west-end development will be asked to assist the city in the development.
“The landowners, those who have the most to gain, will be expected to pay their fair share,” Webb said.
Perhaps the most important piece of the development puzzle is the construction of an exit at Don Tyson Parkway and I-540, Hodges said.
The City Council is set to consider a design contract for the exit on Tuesday. Alderman Eric Ford has suggested the city bypass the Department of Planning and Community Development’s engineer of choice, Garver Engineers, and instead select Crafton Tull Sparks.
But other aldermen think selecting Crafton Tull could create a delay in the already lengthy process of designing and building the exit.
“Once we get the exit started, then we can think about something like” the 1, 000-acre campus at Arvest Ballpark, Alderman Rick Evans said.
With an exit at Don Tyson Parkway, one road could connect Arkansas 265 to Turner Street, U. S. 71 Business, 40 th Street, I-540, 56 th Street and Arkansas 112.
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