Cultural Arts Corridor

The current funding in the Cultural Arts Corridor Bond allows for streetscape improvements on West Ave only as far south as South St.  But the City also has $3 M earmarked in the Transportation Bond question for Downtown Walkability improvements.  The portion of West Ave south of South Street is one of several streets in the downtown being considered for use of that $3 M for walkability. 

Discussions regarding the ongoing maintenance of the Corridor's features are underway and have not yet been determined.

When assessing the estimated economic impact of projects, we turn to analyses conducted by trained economists that quantified the economic outputs of similar projects after they are completed. This is important because these studies are not estimates, they are looking at what actually happened in the communities where these projects were built. Our peer city research has shown an expected return-on-investment of anywhere between three and ten times the construction amount.

For example, the Columbus Commons park development cost around $45M. It catalyzed over $200M in private investment, attracted 1.5M visitors annually, and is often credited with spurring downtown Columbus’s rebirth. We also analyzed Falls Park on the Reedy in Greenville, SC, Hemisfair Park in San Antonio, Guthrie Green in Tulsa, City Garden in St. Louis, amongst others.

Economic returns come from numerous sources. For instance, rather than a large scale event taking place in a parking lot, the West Avenue Civic Space is specifically designed to host many events over the course of a year without disruption to our downtown parking resources. This increased activity drives tourism and helps to further activate downtown through its design and programing. This project will diversify and increase the audience that typically visits the Dickson Street area by offering an vast array of programming that may be targeted to a wider range of audiences that currently frequent the entertainment district. Future programming and events may be as varied as an art fair, a kid-friendly concert or movie night, bicycle or running events and the City’s more traditional events such as Spring Fest or Bikes, Blues and BBQ. The project even provides more parking in the core of our downtown, which increases the number of people who can park in close proximity. The corridor in and of itself is designed to move more people into it through walking, running, or biking. By increasing the number of people in the area, this provides an expanded customer base for current and future businesses. In other communities that we assessed -the areas around these spaces are some of the most economically vibrant and desirous places for businesses to locate, especially for shopping and dining. Why? Because these civic spaces, draw residents and visitors and private investment has followed. Peer City analysis illustrates that these downtown civic spaces serve as the anchors for economic vitality to thrive.

There have been some recent news reports that seem to dramatize the closing of a few businesses on Dickson Street and question the area’s viability.  We believe businesses in the City and on Dickson Street respond to a variety of market forces and that our city’s continued growth is demonstrated by increasingly escalating, positive numbers.  Within Fayetteville, there are nearly 4,000 active businesses, over 200 of which operate within Downtown.  

The City, through the Department of Economic Vitality and its economic development contractors, actively seeks to recruit new businesses to add value to the area. The Cultural Arts Corridor initiative will serve as a catalyst for new economic activity Downtown as well as benefit existing businesses in the area. For example, if approved by residents in the April Bond initiative, the Corridor will not only diversify the audience that visits our Downtown and the Dickson Street area—it will increase it. The project will also provide street enhancements to increase walkability and access to the commercial ventures downtown.

As to the request for a comprehensive review of tax receipts for businesses around Dickson, the city does not have access to this data from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (ADFA) at such a granular level. The City of Fayetteville does monitor sales tax collections on a monthly basis for every industry sector in the City. However, the information currently available is limited to the taxable sales of industry sectors throughout the City as a whole. The information is calculated from reports generated by ADFA and can be found here: https://www.ark.org/dfa/localtaxes/index.php

Direct Economic Development Incentives are governed by Act 685, which limits direct incentives to specific industry sectors.

The City annually contributes operational funding and allocates federal funding toward helping the homeless and those organizations who support the homeless.  However, with respect to the question regarding the possible uses of this bond for housing, the City Council discussed this with staff and bond council.  The revenue from this bond must be used for city infrastructure.  The City does not currently have a role in the management of Public Housing and does not intend to take on such a role.  That role is currently managed by the Fayetteville Housing Authority and they are very active in seeking solutions for housing the homeless.

The grant the City received for the Cultural Arts Corridor is for the design of outdoor public spaces but we expect that this world class facility will be a catalyst for development in the surrounding area that may include housing as well as shopping and restaurants.

The landscape architects designing the project plan to preserve the environment, the urban forest, and the watershed.  Stormwater storage and conveyance and low impact development streetscapes will be features of the design.  To demonstrate its commitment to this ecological purpose, the City will have specific aspects of the project undergo the SITES sustainability rating system managed by the US Green Buidling Council (the same organization that oversees LEED for sustainable buildings).  The rating system encompasses design, construction and operational credits in: stormwater runoff, water use, native plants, soil protection, native ecosystems, urgan heat islands, energy use, light pollution, social connection, equity, and others.  You can read more about SITES here:  http://www.sustainablesites.org/about

Certification for the Cultural Arts Corridor would be the first SITES project in the State of Arkansas.

One key design element of the Cultural Arts Corridor is the West Ave Parking Lot, used by some Walton Arts Center patrons and visitors to other established venues in that area.  The City is committed to providing parking to support the Walton Arts Center, TheatreSquared, and other downtown establishments while creating a walkable environment for today and into the future. To replace the loss of parking, new parking will need to be in place prior to any Cultural Arts Corridor related construction work on the West Avenue parking lot.

Mayor Jordan has committed to the following: 1) The West Avenue lot spaces will be replaced with new parking within reasonable proximity of the West Avenue lot. 2) Replacement spaces will be implemented prior to removal of the West Avenue lot for new construction.

Update 1/9/19! A contract with Garver Engineering LLC is underway to provide a parking site analysis that will evaluate possible parking configurations, feasible number of spaces, liner space capabilities, and other site details for up to five (5) locations within the Entertainment District. This site analysis is the first step in determining the most viable locations for new parking structure(s) and the number of parking spaces each location is likely to provide. 

Results of this analysis along with a recommendation of the preferred site(s) is expected by the end of February and will be used to guide further decision-making on the location(s) for new parking.  Specifically, the scope of work authorizes Garver to review the available contour information for each site; determine the buildable area for each site based on boundaries, easements, and building setbacks; and provide a two-dimensional layout of the parking footprint with approximate number of spaces for a typical level.

We haven't completed the designs for those cross-sections.  They should be completed in January.  Thank you for your input and we will take it into consideration.

Sorry if that was confusing!