Petty and Marsh propose plan for Tyson Mexican Original plant sale proceeds
Ward 1 Alderwoman Sarah Marsh shows slides of Seattle’s Gas Works Park during a presentation at the City Council agenda-setting session on Tuesday.
Photo: Todd Gill, Flyer staff
Update: This proposal was amended to remove section 1 (see text below) and passed by council members 7-0 on March 5.
Two City Council members want to make sure proceeds from the recent sale of the former Tyson Mexican Original plant are put back into the surrounding southeast Fayetteville community.
Aldermen Matthew Petty and Sarah Marsh have sponsored a resolution of intent to use a majority of the $1.115 million the city receives from the recent land sale for improvements to the remaining property and adjacent neighborhoods.
The council earlier this month agreed to sell about two of the 10 acres the city owns at Huntsville and Happy Hollow roads to Kum & Go, which plans to build a new gas station on the east side of the property once the dilapidated factory building is demolished.
This map shows the location of the former Tyson Mexican Original plant at Huntsville and Happy Hollow roads in southeast Fayetteville.
Aerial photo: Google
Officials have discussed selling another street-facing, commercial lot and keeping the remaining acreage for city use.
Petty and Marsh pitched their idea during Tuesday night’s council agenda-setting session.
“This is about getting the maximum value out of this piece of property and making sure that we’re creating a good place for the neighborhood out of something that has been derelict for so long,” said Marsh.
The resolution doesn’t mention any specific plans, but Petty said that’s by design.
“We’ve intentionally left it open-ended,” said Petty. “What we want to accomplish is to come up with a plan for community use for the property.”
Petty said there are a number of options available including reserving the land for a future park-and-ride facility or repurposing some of the former factory’s industrial equipment into aesthetic amenities in a park-like setting.
Expanding upon the latter suggestion, Marsh showed slides of Gas Works Park, a public park on the site of the former Seattle Gas Light Company plant on the shore of Lake Union in Seattle, Washington. The 19-acre park incorporates pieces of the old gasification plant, some of which were repurposed into a children’s “play barn” area in the plant’s exhauster-compressor building.
Mayor Lioneld Jordan (left) and Ward 3 Alderman Martin Schoppmeyer look at a broken skylight in one of the many vacant rooms of the plant during a tour of the property in January. (see more photos)
Flyer photo
“This is a project I thought we could look to for inspiration,” said Marsh. “It’s a very popular park and serves as a great backdrop for a lot of community events.”
There are five sections to the proposed resolution:
1. Designate a majority of the proceeds for the future development of the property for community uses and for connectivity improvements for the surrounding neighborhoods.
2. City staff develop a site plan for the remaining property, which can be funded by the recent land sale proceeds and which promotes revitalization and appropriate infill and includes land for urban agriculture.
3. City staff identify opportunities to improve the connectivity of adjacent neighborhoods with nearby amenities which can be funded from the recent sale.
4. City staff evaluate the feasibility of creative repurposing of portions of the building prior to demolition of the former factory building.
5. Ensure at least 75 percent of non-hazardous demolition waste be recycled or otherwise diverted from the landfill.
Aldermen will consider the proposal during the next regular City Council meeting on March 5.
Gas Works Park video
Recycling Gas Works Park from CCLR on Vimeo.
I like these brains.
Agreed.
This is great. I wonder if the city and K&G could collaborate to make this store and a really interesting adjacent park enough of an attraction to get people off the freeway and into town.
Great idea. Now let’s make it happen!
On a related matter, Dollar General wants to put a store at 2220 East Huntsville Rd (see link below) and has asked planning for a conditional use permit to build there. The area is appropriately zoned residential-office. Traffic concerns aside, this project is not compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. Please do not support it. If we truly want to revitalize this section of town, the road to success is not lined with more strip-mall like developments. We can do better.
Google Street View: http://goo.gl/maps/GxQO0
As a former resident of the area I think it would be really great to see some of that park money invested in sidewalks to connect the neighborhood to the rest of south Fayetteville, specifically on Huntsville road and Happy Hollow Road. People walk on that stretch of Huntsville from happy hollow to mashburn all the time and its really dangerous with traffic, especially at night when there is absolutely no light. And there is a great trail system on the back of Mount Sequoyah but to get to it from Happy Hollow you have to literally walk in the road coming up a hill, there is a hedge on one side and a ditch on the other. I think a park sounds great but let’s think about making it and the neighborhood more pedestrian accessible as well.
It would be great to tie in some river access, as well. The White River is only a few hundred feet away.
@lucylulu – Our proposal is to use the money for both development of the property and connectivity improvements for adjacent neighborhoods. That’s the first section.
Excellent! Sidewalks alone will make the neighborhood so much nicer and safer.
Nothing compares to Völklingen Ironworks:
http://www.voelklinger-huette.org/en/welcome/
(the Tyson plant isn’t significant)
Just sell the whole place and put the money in reserves. This town has so many parks And why not just go up to the old Happy Hollow, where there is huge park space?
How about a park for adults complete with some 50yd lanes with a nice trap at the end?
Can we get a crossover connection to the bike trail? Two lanes and routine speeding ain’t very bike friendly.
two lanes? Isn’t it being widened all the way to Springdale with medians and sidewalks?
The money that bought the property came from the entire city, not just the immediate neighborhood. If we were to set a precedent of only spending proceeds generated within specific neighborhoods then you can easily see the unfair results of that game.
Take your time, the rest of the property will be valuable as well, maybe there’s an even better outcome.