Tower of polarity : Downtown crane has become a source of frustration to some
Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008
She doesn't say much, just stands there looking bored.
People wonder, as they wander by her. Why hasn't she been busy ? There are poems and rumors about her, and her picture has been taken countless times.
Standing there, gracefully swaying with the wind, her presence speaks volumes about the town and its people, who scamper at the foot of her concrete pedestal. Like everything else in Fayetteville, residents have definite opinions about what she's doing, and why she still stands 285 feet above the barren ground where the Mountain Inn once stood.
She represents the promise of Fayetteville, that there will have to be some destruction during the evolution of the quaint college town into an anchor in one of the country's fastest-growing metro areas. But she also speaks to the fear and distrust felt by those who are protective of the community they love.
It's been more than a year since construction workers placed her on her pedestal at the corner of Mountain Street and North College Avenue, ostensibly marking the beginning of construction of the Renaissance Tower. The initial sight of her elicited excitement, but as the weeks of seeming inactivity turned to months, rumors began spreading that Sally is as close as the city will get to having an 18-story luxury hotel in downtown.
Sally Crane declined an interview when notified of her selection as the Northwest Arkansas Times newsmaker of the year. She said only that she's ready to get swinging.
She's not the only one ready to see steel start coming out of the ground.
"Everyone is looking for that in'08," said Gary Dumas, director of operations for the city of Fayetteville.
Dumas considers Crane to be a sign of progress; it's just unfortunate that the hotel project isn't further along than it is. He said the administration hasn't been given a date on which the work will begin in earnest, nor do they have a pool on when the work will start.
"That's not a bad idea," he said about the pool.
Dumas said that investment in the rest of the block is a good sign that developers remain committed to the project and will be moving on the hotel soon.
"Hopefully all the issues with the hotel will be resolved shortly," he said. "Now if there had been no investment in the rest of the block, then there would have been concern."
The Renaissance Tower, with an estimated cost of about $ 49 million, is the largest single project included with the renovation of the city block bordered by East and North College avenues and Center and Mountain streets. To help get the project moving, the Fayetteville City Council created a Tax Increment Financing District, which wound its way through the judicial system before landing at the Arkansas Supreme Court.
The financing method uses a portion of the incremental property tax growth to pay off the approximately $ 3. 5 million in bonds that were issued to buy and remove the former Mountain Inn.
Dumas said that once the hotel project is finished, the city will get much more than it invested.
John Nock and Richard Alexander are the primary investors in the Renaissance Tower but partner with sev- eral others on the adjacent projects for which they have pulled permits with a combined value of more than $ 5 million. Those projects include: One East Center, the former Bank of America building on which they are teaming with Ted Belden and Rob Merry-Ship; the Cravens Building, which is the former McRoy McNair building, of which Merry-Ship is also a partner; and 31 East Center, which was the original Mountain Inn.
The hotel, which will be Marriott Renaissance, was approved in 2005 and was expected to be ready for operation by Sept. 1, 2007. When that didn't happen, the developers were on the hook for liquidated damages, which at $ 25, 042 was supposed to cover the monthly sales tax receipts generated by the hotel. "We were wildly optimistic," Alexander said about the promise the two made to get the hotel open by September. Alexander said the actual construction schedule, around 18 months, was pretty accurate. It was the design that took time, he said. Trying to design a 19-story building so that it matches the historic buildings on Center Street presented its own challenges, Alexander said. It would have been cheaper, faster and easier to level the block and start fresh, he said. Working with Marriott also provided unforeseen delays, Nock said. The company is thorough in its review and also very picky, he said. "That's why they're the best," he said. Nock said that while he's not trying to lay blame on the company, the fact is that several elements added time and expense to the project. For example, he said, the company encouraged the inclusion of on-site laundry facilities, which "added another three months and $ 1. 5 million. "The time and expense came from having to add a basement (the big hole in the ground, ) which meant redesigning the structure. Also, because the irons used to press sheets are so large, they had to make arrangements to take them out through the sidewalk, Alexander said. That added the need for another easement from the city, he said, which, of course, added time.
Alexander said that it may be taking longer than people want - including those whose money is on the line - but the finished product won't be a disappointment. The fit and finish of the building will not be cheapened like some projects, he said.
Nock said that from the inside, there is a lot of activity, as the projects are all tied together with a shared goal of helping establish downtown Fayetteville as a destination.
"The crane, in my mind, is a symbol of what we're doing," Nock said," a symbol of commitment."
A tour of the other projects tells of the work that has been going on. From the high-end condos in One East Center, which have price tags up to $ 1 million, to the affordable Chicago-style studio condos in the Cravens Building, which start at about $ 150, 000, the units are well appointed and have a sense of place.
Alexander and Nock are also partnering on The Cosmopolitan Hotel, which is being redone with what they call a retro-modern style, complete with flat panel televisions and lamps with iPod docks. The two are working with Ted Belden and Hank Broyles on upgrades to the E. J. Ball building and are joined by Belden, Merry-Ship, and Bill and Craig Underwood on the Lofts at Underwood Plaza.
The fact that the hotel is not complete may be disappointing, but it's hard to ignore the rest of the work the two are doing, Mayor Dan Coody said.
"It's taking longer than anyone ever hoped or imagined, but in the long run I think it is going to work out just fine," he said.
Coody said he doesn't have any insight as to what is going on with the project or what caused the time shift.
"It's the private sector doing whatever they can," he said. "I don't pretend to know the details."
What matters is that they are continuing with their investments into the community, Coody said.
"I'm glad to see the owners of the project making progress," he said. "Even though it's slow, it's progress, and in this environment that's worth something."
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