FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The empty building with the owl mural sits at the corner of Center and Mountain streets in Fayetteville.
The building is known for consistently being vacant. The property owners told the City that they weren’t able to keep up with the repairs. So, the owners move forward with inquiring about steps towards taking the building down.
It’s been a two-year process, starting back in 2020 with Fayetteville issuing city violations to the building. And the next steps were the owners moving for demolition permits.
“They’re doing more on the exploratory side today, they’ve been working on the south end of the building which doesn’t have much interaction with the foundation,” Johnathan Curth with Fayetteville City Developers Office.
In the interest of public safety, the city will be closing off the sidewalk. The demolition could possibly cause debris to fall and the city will implement the precautions in the coming weeks.
“The sidewalk soon one of the big pieces of concern is large pieces of concern in the violation letter was several pieces of marble or concrete that may be separating from the building could fall on the sidewalk,” Curthe said.
No new construction permits are in the works and Community members are hoping for something fresh to come to the Fayetteville area in its place when the site is cleared.
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