FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — On Monday night, the Fayetteville Planning Commission approved a new apartment complex in the downtown area.
The city told 5NEWS that the contractors gathered feedback from residents in the area to make revisions. Those changes involve reducing the number of units in the complex and improving sidewalks and parking options in the area.
The 138-unit Urban Lofts complex will be right off of Nelson Hackett Boulevard at the intersections of South Street, Block Avenue, and Fourth street.
"It is not a single family. It is not student only housing. But it is small, one-bedroom apartments that could serve a wide range of uses. As several realtors noted, there's a distinct shortage of this kind of unit here in the city," said Donna Wonsower with the city.
Alex Cogbill, owner of Local Color Studio Gallery off of Nelson Hackett, said he’s heard from neighbors and business owners in the area who aren’t so happy with the decision.
"I know it's a big development, and I know that people are concerned about parking," Cogbill said. "We are right downtown. So I'm hoping that a lot of people really do bike and don't have cars. But, I know that the neighbors that live right here are definitely highly concerned about it."
However, Cogbill said that despite the concern, it's an opportunity for growth.
"This is such a time for change, taking advantage of that and setting precedence with big projects about how we want to do it in Fayetteville," Cogbill said.
Urban Lofts did make some changes to help address those issues including reducing their unit count by 20%. The revised plan has 138 units, 120 car and scooter parking spaces, and 17 bicycle racks.
"They're planning on providing a discount for tenants who don't have a car. So essentially separating out the actual unit from the parking space. They also mentioned that the developers will work to provide parking permits at the town center parking garage if they have a need for overflow parking," Wonsower said.
Residents have 10 days to file an appeal on the planning commission’s decision.
5NEWS reached out to Urban Lofts Company who declined an interview until after the appeal period but said they’re eager to speak about this project in the future.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.