The Twin Arch Motel, 521 N. College Ave., could soon be converted into a small apartment complex.
Photo: Todd Gill, Flyer staff
The Fayetteville Planning Commission on Monday unanimously approved a rezoning request to allow for the redevelopment of a vacant midtown motel into a small apartment complex.
The 1950s era Twin Arch Motel, located at 521 N. College Ave., served as a weekly rental complex in recent years before closing last fall after a fire reportedly damaged several of its units.
According to city planning documents, partners Tom Harding and Garrison Roddey with Rogers-based Community Development Partners LLC plan to convert the two-building, 11-room motel into a nine-unit, studio apartment complex marketed toward graduate students and young business professionals.
“It needs a tender, loving hand on it and we’d like to just massage it and turn it into a really nice apartment complex,” Harding told commissioners during Monday’s meeting.
According to a letter from Roddey to city planning staff, Community Development Partners plan to purchase the property from Grace Warren, who currently lives in California. Roddey said Warren bought the motel in 1985 and operated it with her late husband.
The rezoning request will likely be forwarded to the Fayetteville City Council for final approval in July.
That is what we need more apartments, duplexes, multi living housing (sarcastically)… really, does Fayetteville have a master plan anymore?? Our beautiful city is turning into a place where we put up multi housing just anywhere and everywhere. When is it going to stop and when are the citizens going to stand up to stop some of this? When will enough housing be enough? Has anyone noticed the poor choice of housing that has been built next to Wiggins church on MLK Ave. and on down on the old Jones property close to East Ave.? The old sale barn property is another example… so is the plan to turn the south part of town into stuffing as many people and buildings into small spaces as much as possible. I guess this would be an example of greed at it’s best with no concern for beauty and long term quality of life. None of these structures that I have named (and those are only a few examples) belong in the spaces and neighborhoods they are being built in. Please citizen’s of Fayetteville begin paying attention to the building and development around you, get involved… it is our city and it matters what is being built. It matters the decisions that are being made because they are not proving to be in our best interest… I won’t even begin to discuss the Block Street design!!
Since the Twin Arch Motel is pretty much obsolete as a motel, turning it into studio apartments seems a wise reuse, as it trades a relatively high-intensity residential use for a lower-intensity residential use. The move replaces an absentee owner with a local owner. How will that negatively affect beauty and quality of life? They might even put another concrete deer in front of the place. Ooh la la!
How is the Block Street design not in our best interest?
What is high-intensity residential use?
Intensity in zoning generally refers to percent of land covered with building and the amount and type of traffic generated by the particular use. Commercial uses are generally considered more intense than residential uses. It might not be the best way to consider it, but: would you rather live next door to a motel or a group of studio apartments?
I commend David Franks for his advocacy of public art.
Um, overreact much? This property is sitting empty. It’s being renovated and reused. That’s a great use for the space- along the lines of the old St. Joe’s Church. Personally, I like the environmentally conscious housing being built by the Wiggins church.
The old sale barn property? The rusting, vacant and dilapidated sale barn? The “Grove” apartments should generate some real, honest to goodness commercial traffic and economic development on S. School in what is not exactly the most “beautiful” part of town. Unless you consider junk yards, used car lots and pawn shops beautiful.
I do hope the city seriously considered the run off and flooding issues in South Fayetteville before building the Grove, but I doubt it. Now THAT is an issue.
RE “Unless you consider junk yards, used car lots and pawn shops beautiful.”
You left out the bail bondsmen. All those bail bondsmen…. And the White Star Tavern.
Ditto to both DG and Mr. Franks!
With the continuous and significant growth of student enrollment at the university, there is an increasing need to house students in Fayetteville. In this instance, recent graduates are being considered, which attempts to provide housing for the many graduates, and young professionals we’d likely lose to other locations otherwise. Should efficiency of density and location be disregarded in order to pursue ‘non-housing’ options such as cheap suburban developments?
I’m focusing neither on quality of craft nor quality of material. So, I propose that there will be enough housing, when simply the demand has been met. Greed is exemplified in poor design and cheap materials; I would be careful when associating greed directly with developing housing.
Go soak your head. This is a college town, college towns have apartments. Plus, that motel is awesome looking, you want them to tear it down and build you another new what, exactly?
I love reading the comments on this site. We can bitch about how College Avenue is sadly full of vacant buildings, then we can switch hit and rag on any effort to remedy the situation. Very versatile bunch here.
I’ve got a simple one word fix to your problems: move.
An equally simple, yet infinitely more clever solution (coming from you) would be: beat it.
Considering the freshman class size is increasing an average of 1700 a year I think Fayetteville could probably stand to build even more apartment buildings.
This project will improve that property and I’m all for it. I think Fayetteville could do something to strengthen the quality of its apartment stock. Many of the older apartment complexes are just becoming magnets for crime and aren’t maintained properly.
cool. that means nice new sidewalks and trees right? housing on college strikes me as a good thing. slow things down a bit. try to make the street more homey.
oh man, i wonder if there is a neighborhood association that will rise up and fight this similar to the university heights crowd.
great. NOW where am I supposed to cook blue sky scanté?
Walmart, apparently.
I’m pretty sure this is a meth joke.
While we’re complaining about apartments, I really like how the city is putting some of the infill in the old heart of town. I was down on the southside yesterday and while I know many don’t like having apartments around the cemetery, I was stuck by how dense and walkable that section of town is becoming. There are new town homes going up next to Walgreens on South School, too. It kind of extends the feeling of “downtown” down the hill. I hope some more buildings fill in that area of town, but I’d prefer if the city had a stronger ordinance requiring them to be more urban and less “garden-style”, and more durable. My personal view is that several long-time Fayetteville developers have a short proforma and don’t look toward a building being usable after 10 years, and the quality of their buildings is lacking.
My wishlist includes new retail storefonts out on School in front of the old feed mill lofts. I envision that area feeling like Dickson, with street-facing storefronts, and parking behind. Instead of the Leg’, you have the old mill lofts, or whatever they are called….. Just my own personal community design charrette.
Is there a master plan to the city? Getting nasty with someone that is a native of this beautiful town and that has concerns and does not want to see it get destroyed by over developing (which has already happened in some areas) does not make you right. Getting tacky and rude does not make you right and does make others wrong. The abandon buildings do need to be developed and it would be cool if this one could stay similar to what it had been all these years but that is not happening in most cases… the other examples named above on MLK Ave and the sale barn property do not fit into where they are built and there is no room for what has been built. There is no room to stuff more apartments next to Leverett Elementary for that matter so back to my original question, is there a master plan to our city? Because if there is not then scattered projects that is based on one making money can turn the city into a mess. This does not mean that there does not need to be projects but there needs to be an overall plan to go by.
RE “Is there a master plan to the city?”
Yes, Fayetteville has a master plan, and I would think a native of this city would know that. City Plan 2030, née City Plan 2025, created in 2006– the master plan that people in the Project Cleveland thread and other threads have been complaining about “being a slave to”. Perhaps you missed all of that. Of course, if it is a matter of such importance to you, you could wipe the rage out of your eyes and check the City of Fayetteville web site, where it can be found under Government > Planning > Master Plans. Here’s a link:
http://www.accessfayetteville.org/government/planning/Master_Plan/index.cfm Do some digging– it’s good exercise. Helps to keep that blood pressure under control.
You went from “That is what we need more apartments, duplexes, multi living housing (sarcastically)” in your first post to “it would be cool if this one could stay similar to what it had been all these years” (which is exactly what is planned) in the second. Perhaps you should have done more thinking before you posted. Hasty is just as undesirable as nasty, tacky and rude.
Now, you owe me answers to my two questions:
How will converting an obsolete motel into studio apartments negatively affect beauty and quality of life?
How is the Block Street design not in our best interest?
(The old sale barn property? The rusting, vacant and dilapidated sale barn? The “Grove” apartments should generate some real, honest to goodness commercial traffic and economic development on S. School in what is not exactly the most “beautiful” part of town. Unless you consider junk yards, used car lots and pawn shops beautiful.) living on the so side i agree with the above as well as (glutenfree) But as long as so school is called so school and the city leaves their lot looking like a dump and look at the above ground pole utlates their putting on Cato springs WHO’S fault is it the south is like this?we all know on Cato springs it was voted residential but because of a certain business it was changed they say know one showed up at the meeting to disagree we WERE NOT INFORMED OF THE CHANGE UNLESS A GARAGE SALE SIGN IN THE DUTCH IS CONSIDERED BEING INFORMED were blue class working people we work 3rd 2nd and 1st shifts know ones up are at home when you have the meetings were asleep are at work picking up kids and heading home so when are we to attend the meetings many of us bought in the area because of the city plan i like alot of what little is being done but as a gateway into the city from the south a lot more thought needs put into planning and the city needs to beautify there own lots is sad we feel duped when we bought in the area i hope we see better improvement in the future shame i wont be here cause of the cato change i’m saleing out
Uh……this?
Whaaaa?
Allow me to translate:
Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another.
Best Flyer comment, maybe ever. Well played.
WERE NOT INFORMED OF THE CHANGE UNLESS A GARAGE SALE SIGN IN THE DUTCH IS CONSIDERED BEING INFORMED sorry read this morning meant DITCH and yes i’m anger i did not know fayettevilles history of south when i moved here
RE “look at the above ground pole utlates their putting on Cato springs”
The city has no control over the way utilities are run. Perhaps you missed the palaver over the power lines that run across Dickson Street along North Gregg.
RE “we all know on Cato springs it was voted residential but because of a certain business it was changed they say know one showed up at the meeting to disagree”
No, we don’t all know. What are you talking about? Are you saying that the whole area was rezoned, or that a single parcel was rezoned?
RE “we WERE NOT INFORMED OF THE CHANGE UNLESS A GARAGE SALE SIGN IN THE DUTCH IS CONSIDERED BEING INFORMED”
Requests for zoning changes, variances and conditional uses related to a particular parcel are published in the newspaper of record (good luck with that) and area residents are notified by the placement of a sign on the parcel near each street or road abutting the parcel. You got as much notice as any other neighborhood would get.
RE “the city needs to beautify there own lots”
Does this complaint have something to do with Southpass?
Are you aware that the city council and the planning commission take written comments, and that you can have them read at a meeting?
Have you considered setting up a neighborhood association? It works wonders.
I’m really glad that this property will be turned into darling little apartments – I was fearing for it when I saw the for sale sign. So many interesting buildings are razed to make room for soul-less multi-apartment complexes.
I do not “owe you” anything, this is a discussion regarding what we believe is best for our town…
“The abandon buildings do need to be developed and it would be cool if this one could stay similar to what it had been all these years but that is not happening in most cases…” I believe that I have previously stated that abandon buildings should be developed, the point is that many of the projects do not fit together or fit the design with each other so it is looking like a big mess. What is happening with the MLK does not match does not look like a “master plan”. That is why I have asked the same question, it does not fit the master plan or any plan. This does not mean there does not need to be renovation and cleaning up, but it also does not mean that just because it is a new building that it will be a good idea long term. There needs to be a plan for each area to maintain a cohesive appearance and still useful to the masses while not maxing out the utilities and city uses.
What is wrong with Block Street? Are you kidding? Too narrow, to park you pull in backwards, the street is no longer straight, the big brick bumps do not make any sense, I would imagine that emergency vehicles would have a harder time, a nice pretty street has been turned into a crazy weird design and I do not see the posttive point of it, REALLY, and do you think that I need to do my homework? I have eyes and so do many others who feel the same way… this design makes absolutely no sense.
People can feel that an old sale barn is an eye sore and it is great thing to have many apartments built in it’s place but who will protect the cemetery, and there were a lot opposing the plan so if it was so desired then why were they opposing? Why were the residents on Cleveland opposing more apartments? Perhaps enough is enough? As a matter of fact, how many apartments will be enough? When half sit empty? Many graduating move off and always have so the graduating stats do not mean they are staying. The apartments do not all fill up now. I do not wish to live in a town of all apartments and neither do many other people, that is not what Fayetteville has been nor should be… do your homework.
Although I would have preferred a design with wider sidewalks, as a downtowner and daily user of Block Street, I am happy with the design. As a future resident of the federal cemetery I prefer the apartments to the old sale barn. Now if we could just get rid of all the damned churches all would be right with the universe.
RE “I do not “owe you” anything”
Actually, the way you demanded the answer to a question you shouldn’t have needed to ask rather obligated you to answer my questions. This is, after all, a discussion.
RE “What is wrong with Block Street? Are you kidding? [Blah, bleat, blah]”
The design for Block Avenue meets all requirements for width and emergency vehicle access. Indeed, the design was revised according to direct input from the Fire Department. The traffic lane is not straight because in addition to on-street parking, driveways had to be accommodated and access for deliveries and service provided. The back-in parking, which has certain advantages, particularly on an uphill street, maximizes available parking, which a lot of people seem to be interested in– particularly the merchants on Block Street, who were consulted during the design process. Although it has some charming buildings, Block hasn’t been a “nice pretty street” since at least the mid-1970s. Maybe you should take driving lessons, or Valium, to help you cope with it.
RE apartments near the National Cemetery
I was among those who objected– rather strenuously– to the first proposed project, because at the time, the site seemed too far from the University to be a serviceable as claimed, and because the developer didn’t appear to have sufficient regard for the cemetery. Most of the objections had to do with the site, not the addition of apartments. Although I’m not entirely happy with the whole idea, the Grove development makes more sense than the first project: it will be integrated into the trail system, and the timing seems right.
Some of your questions will be answered and suppositions addressed by a quick reading of City Plan 2030. I provided a link above so you wouldn’t damage your fragile sensibilities by struggling to find it. (Think of it as homework.) There appears to be no cure for some aspects of your peculiar outlook, however, so I guess you’ll have to get involved.
In the meantime, I’ve done my homework.
David Franks quote – “Maybe you should take driving lessons, or Valium, to help you cope with it.
I provided a link above so you wouldn’t damage your fragile sensibilities by struggling to find it. (Think of it as homework.) There appears to be no cure for some aspects of your peculiar outlook, however, so I guess you’ll have to get involved.”
Abandoned your rhetorical and reasoning skills? Maybe your doctor over-prescribes or or maybe you’re spending too much time breathing traffic fumes and fall in with just about any product of bureaucratic creation willynilly. Could be you’re just insensitive. Or maybe you need to get away from assignments and become less intolerant of views critical of any project of the present city administration.
I hope you see that this is how you come across to some. It’s one thing to say a third party is demented or ignorant, but to throw that to the 2nd person, someone who’s expressing an opinion, is not persuasive.
And about Block Street, I quote —- “Are you kidding?” I haven’t met one real person who thinks it’s anything but a botched pretension. And the GROVE — shall we just say the name is ludicrous in connection with the thing itself.
Now, instead of addressing the issue — aesthetics, neighborhoods, planning, etc. — sharpen the stiletto.
DF sometimes makes strong arguments, but his pissy tone and “I’m-better-than-you” posturing undercuts them greatly. If he could restrain himself from the snide cheapshots, he’d score more points. Baseball fans may think of Albert (Joey) Belle.
RE ““Maybe you should take driving lessons, or Valium, to help you cope with it.”
Getting so up-in-arms about perfectly functional street design and making it out to be some grave danger to the community– never mind claiming that it ruined the aesthetics of Block Avenue– indicates a need for action, and I suggested two viable options.
RE “I provided a link above so you wouldn’t damage your fragile sensibilities by struggling to find it.”
R.G.M. has repeatedly asked for information that is easily available. Had he visited the link I thoughtfully provide earlier, he might well have realized that his paranoid blather about greedy developers and the ruination of Fayetteville is– well, paranoid blather. (He might not.)
RE “(Think of it as homework.)”
I find an admonition to do homework from somebody who won’t do homework to be laughable.
RE “There appears to be no cure for some aspects of your peculiar outlook, however, so I guess you’ll have to get involved.”
R.G.M. has buried in his posts several calls to action on the part of citizens to notice, to question, to act, to take part– yet he apparently can’t be bothered to read the master plan even when a link is provided. I suggest that he follow his own prescription.
RE “Abandoned your rhetorical and reasoning skills?”
Not a bit. The reasoning still underlies the rhetoric.
RE “Could be you’re just insensitive.”
Could be. Damned Asperger’s.
RE “become less intolerant of views critical of any project of the present city administration.”
I’m intolerant of hysterical posts based on misinformation and/or utter lack of information. Also note that I rather like the master plan, which was a product of the previous administration.
RE “It’s one thing to say a third party is demented or ignorant, but to throw that to the 2nd person, someone who’s expressing an opinion, is not persuasive.”
An ad hominem attack is fallacious regardless of whom it is directed to. I try to restrict my criticism to opinions rather than people, and I almost always provide information to support my criticism. In this case, I extended my criticism to the persona created by the posts, which I am fairly sure is not the real R.G.M.
RE “I haven’t met one real person who thinks it’s anything but a botched pretension.”
(“Real person”?) If you intend to keep that anecdotal record intact, we probably shouldn’t meet. I could ask if you’ve met everybody in Fayetteville, but that could be construed as overly snarky– even pissy.
Innarested Observer–
RE “his pissy tone and “I’m-better-than-you” posturing undercuts them greatly.”
Note that R.G.M. cited the fact that he is a native of Fayetteville, which strikes me as “‘I’m-better-than-you’ posturing”. And his tone is uniformly pissy. Why are these things problems only in my posts? Certainly I will take on a pissy tone when it is set by others, but I seldom start the pissiness. (I don’t offer that as a defense; it is a simple fact.)
I suppose it would have been more productive to be all nicey-nice and directly point out to R.G.M. that his point– and he has an important point– would have been better conveyed with less hysteria and more facts. But by the time I got through his first post, it seemed clear that he wasn’t interested in my assistance, or in the fact that I could find buried in it some extent to which I agree with him.
I don’t disagree with everything you say on a variety of topics, but I do think you are kinda mean.
Good call. I am mean (though not irredeemably so), and I am not entirely disagreeable. For a number of years, I have been widely acknowledged to be a curmudgeon, which is a relatively nice way to put it. I nevertheless appreciate your contributions to these threads, as a general rule.
Not to take credit for any such transformation, but I note that in a few cases at least, whether due to my goading or some other miracle, hysterical, uninformed or otherwise uncommunicative commenters have moderated their tones and made more sense after enduring an exchange with me.
Well I guess if you’re proud of that and wear it as a badge of honor, that’s your thing. But it doesn’t help your arguments and it’s not super classy IMO. Good luck with all that. If your arguments are superior, stay on the high road. Getting down in the slop with everyone else… if that’s how you wanna roll, well, then…
Although I’m a pretty good curmudgeon, it’s not a matter of pride; I have simply come to terms with the way I am.
Usually by speaking concern or opinions there is feedback that may or may not be agreed upon but it usually sheds light upon a different point of view that gives me something further to think about. The responses for the most part have shed a negative tone (mostly from this DF person) which was not the intent of the thread. The intent was to open a discussion about a serious concern of where our future lies with our town and developments. You see I do know that I may be missing the facts about some of this and I want to know.
It was my intent to state that I am a native to mean that I have experienced 40+ years here and 100+ more come from family stories and involvement in the same and surrounding community.. I am not sure how you got “better – than – you” from that… it was a statement of validation on my part for my concern and knowledge of the area… perhaps you need to look into the definition of being paranoid. I will not go into any further of my experience and education because you will only make something negative out of that as well.
I have read over the master plan, the point of asking the question was to point out that the developments do not match the areas…
I can drive just fine… where did the need for medication come into the conversation on your part?
The design is bad and ridiculous on Block Street but those like you will continue to take others opinions personally so the only course is to ignore you and move forward to seek mature knowledge and opinions from those not so nasty. Your delivery of information whether right or wrong makes us all feel beaten up and eventually no one wants to hear what you have to say.
RE “Usually by speaking concern or opinions there is feedback that may or may not be agreed upon but it usually sheds light upon a different point of view that gives me something further to think about.”
Well, yes– when the concern or opinion is stated in such a way that it doesn’t invite a sarcastic response. Or when one reads past the sarcasm, which admittedly is not always tempting.
RE “The responses for the most part have shed a negative tone”
The common element, of course, is that they were all responding to you.
Thank you for the clarification; it is a step in the right direction. If only you had set out to be clear from the beginning.
just ignore him, people
Hard to. He posts in every thread. I think this is his job.
Don’t let the internet bully get the best of you!
Oh, he nor others like him will not get me down, I will move forward and not waste my energy / time reading his messages now that I realize what he is about. Thank you though, it is nice to read reasonable responses. And yes, I did notice that he responds to many of these articles.
RE “I will move forward and not waste my energy / time reading his messages”
That’s what Innarested Observer said. And yet….
Widening Garland Ave. is an interesting project, I wonder how this will be in the end. Sure does not seem like enough room but I am not an engineer. I hope that this will help to revitalize this area as well.
I used to live on North Maxwell, and I walked up and down Garland quite a bit. I also hope that the street improvements will spur neighborhood improvements. That’s a nice part of town with some interesting neighborhoods, and it deserves some sprucing up.