A demolition crew works to remove a vacant Maple Street Apartments complex Monday afternoon in Fayetteville.
Todd Gill, Fayetteville Flyer
Demolition of a downtown apartment building this week brought yet another sign that a large-scale student housing complex is on its way.
The vacant Maple Street Apartments building which was last week loaned to the Fayetteville Fire Department for training exercises was slowly brought to the ground on Monday.
The 2.99-acre development is aimed towards university students interested in living in downtown Fayetteville.
Original map by Google
The building is one of seven structures being removed to make way for 555 Maple, a 183-unit apartment project at the corner of Maple Street and West Avenue.
The five-story complex, set to take up an entire city block between Lafayette and Maple streets, is one of three upcoming projects from Seth Mims and Jeremy Hudson. The two are also planning a 250-unit complex on Lafayette Street between Campbell and West avenues, and a 222-unit complex at West Cleveland Street and North Hall Avenue.
Mims and Hudson are the duo behind Eco Modern Flats, a LEED Platinum-certified apartment complex which opened on Hill Avenue last May.
Weather permitting, expect to see more demolition later this week.
Really? A FIVE STORY complex there, and then two others slated to begin soon?
Who approved this monstrosity in that location? FIVE STORIES is way too tall for that neighborhood.
I am getting sick and tired of the planning commission, and the City Council, just letting these projects go through because “someone” said they would fit with the location. It has been my experience, sitting in on the planning commission, that they do not take much into consideration when they are granting these projects, or allowing rezoning. It seems like if a developer comes in and makes a presentation, it is an automatic approval because of the tax revenue it is going to produce. Never is the impact on the neighborhood surrounding the project used as a deciding factor. It always seems like their minds are made up before they hear from anyone who might oppose the projects.
Just recently, the planning commission approved a rezoning from Residential-4 to “Neighborhood Conservation” – meaning the developer is now allowed to cram SIXTEEN MORE homes on a piece of property that can, at most, handle 34 homes. They call this “Neighborhood Conservation” but it conserves NOTHING. It does not conserve energy, it does not conserve green space, it does not conserve water, it does not conserve the natural flow of the surrounding neighborhood. It is a way to create more tax revenue, and that is all it does.
I am sick and tired of the over-development to collect more tax revenue. This has to be stopped. Fayetteville can grow as a City, but not this way. This is the wrong way.
Re: “Who approved” the project, here is a link to our story about the Planning Commission’s approval of 555 Maple in December. Included are some quotes from residents and the developer about the height of the building.
Couldn’t disagree more Tom Sawyer! This is exactly the sort of infill that fits with the 2025 plan. It will do a lot to keep Dickson vibrant and profitable, with lots of consumers within walking distance. I think it’s great.
I agree. That parcel has been underutilized for a long time. A row of non-descript apartments and a decrepit, abandoned, non-historical church aren’t anything I’ll miss. The project is going to bring in a lot of people spending a lot of money on Dickson, and it will also house some new businesses. Good stuff for Dickson Street.
With parking spaces included, higher rent there probably will be worth it to a lot of people who spend most of their time on campus and in that part of town. I’m impressed with the business plan. It seems like a good idea considering the new parking situation, both in the city and on campus. More people will be walking, with their cars stowed away in a concealed garage.
Dickson is headed back to where it was in the early 90′s with the way downtown is going.
How so?
I don’t understand this comment. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
This comment makes little sense to me as well…
Also, I respectfully disagree with Tom’s comments. This type of infill is a great opportunity for not just Fayetteville but the UofA. I could go on and on about why I disagree and even give references as to why but it would be pointless. I actually had to go back a second time just to finish reading Tom’s comments because there is so much anger in the tone :-(
Under the last Masterplan designation, Downtown General (which I believe this location is) allow for 6 story height?
This seems to fit that designation?
In this neighborhood, city height restrictions allow buildings up to four stories tall (or 56 feet). Planning Commissioners, however, approved an extra story for this particular development.
“I feel it’s my responsibility to approach each project from the perspective of our guiding principles,” said Commissioner Porter Winston, speaking to the city’s master plan which aims to discourage suburban sprawl. “I feel like the developers and architects behind this project have thought very carefully about what those guiding principles are and have developed something that is really going to work with them and fulfill those principles.”
Look at all those building materials (windows, doors, lumber, railings) being torn down that could be reused but instead will go to a landfill.
let’s pray that this housing complex doesn’t allow any godforsaken dogs. it could doom us all.
OMG, can you imagine how many dogs could be housed on 2.99 acres stacked five obnoxious stories tall?
I’ve seen that in a PETA video before. It was a LOT of dogs.
Rendering, please.
J.R.–
RE “Look at all those building materials (windows, doors, lumber, railings) being torn down that could be reused”
That’s a good point, and I would expect these developers to be conscious of the issue. However, I suspect that many of the components are so cheap to begin with that they wouldn’t be of any use after even careful removal– if they could be removed without destroying them. It would be good if the wood, in whatever condition, could be sent off to be recycled into fiberboard, strandboard, chipboard, chunkboard, sliverboard, or whatever processed wood product.
Unfortunately, the monetary value of the materials as recyclables is probably not as great as the cost to the developer or demolition company to prepare them for recycling.
Maybe, maybe not. You should go hear Dan Phillips of Phoenix Commotion (http://www.phoenixcommotion.com) talk when he comes to Fayetteville on April 21st at Mount Sequoyah. Or you could watch his TED talk online. He builds affordable and really cool houses from recycled and salvaged materials that would otherwise be sent to the landfill.
No law requires recycling. It’s the best of all worlds: wasteful, green, smug, and legal. Sweep on.
I bet they recycled the copper.
I walked by that apartment while the fire dept. was training last week. They didn’t leave much to be recycled as far as to be reused on another building. However the wood could be chipped and reused in that way.
@JR You will be glad to know that much of the material from the demolished buildings will be reused or recycled. Habitat for Humanity was on site for weeks before demolition, salvaging building materials from the buildings that have been removed. Though there is no legal requirement to recycle materials from the old structures, the new apartments are aiming for LEED certification, which requires that at least half the construction waste (including materials from the old buildings) be diverted from landfills through reuse or recycling.
Keep those pesky facts out of here! You’re gonna ruin a good ranting opportunity.
Excellent. Thank you for providing this information.
Whoa! Franks likes something!!!