SouthPass could visit Planning Commission later this month
Posted on Sunday, July 20, 2008
SouthPass, the town-sized development that is slated to bring a 200-acre regional park to Fayetteville, could go before the city Planning Commission at its July 28 meeting.
"We are really trying to build a community that is very much in tune with the spirit of Fayetteville and the surrounding area," Steve Aust, project manager, said. "The spirit of the community is that walkability, the park, the whole idea of the park."
Many of the details of the complex project have been substantially worked through, Aust said, so he is optimistic about bringing the project to the Planning Commission this month.
Andrew Garner, Fayetteville senior planner, said the main purpose of that meeting will be to introduce the project to the planning commissioners with an overview of the project as a whole.
"We'll try to hit some highlight issues," Garner, who does not anticipate that planning staff will be making an overall recommendation at that time, said.
He said there would be recommendations about "some of the big picture items."
The New Urbanism mixeduse development includes a commercial core, public school and churches as well as homes and the 200-acre community / regional park that was the idea behind the public-private venture. According to the project summary, it emphasizes a variety of land uses, traditional neighborhood design, parks and walkability.
In 2004, the city issued a request for proposal to initiate the private-public partnership that is becoming SouthPass.
"The next big step for us is getting out there and sharing it," Aust, who said he's excited about and looking forward to the input from the Planning Commission meeting, said.
After consideration by the Planning Commission, the project will go before the City Council for planned zoning district approval.
Development is expected to take 15-20 years.
Density SouthPass will bring about 4, 300 residential units on about 910 acres near Interstate 540 and Cato Springs Road. The land changes from rolling pastures to steep hillsides and forested acres. "It's ver y dense down below, very sparse up above on the hillside. There's very little development up there," Aust said. Plans are for 809 singlefamily lots, 2, 881 multifamily units and 630 condominium lofts. It has six planning areas, the most dense being the Town Center area in the northeast corner of the site. Overall density works out to about 4. 2 units per acre, ranging from 2. 2 per acre on the bluffs to about 30 per acre by the condominiums. Garner described it as a cluster-type development with the topography dominating the layout. Developers have tried to limit disturbing certain areas while clustering the density in other areas, maximizing greenspace preservation, Garner said. "When you go out there, you can see this is really just divided by the different mountain tops and valleys," Garner said.
Community park About 490 of the South-Pass acreage, more than half the site, will be reserved for parkland trail corridors, tree preservation area and open spaces.
"It's a great thing. The guys are giving what amounts to about $ 10 million worth of real estate to the city. I'm not sure that's been done lately in Fayetteville," Aust said.
The "guys "are owners John Nock, Richard Alexander and Hank Broyles. South-Pass Development Co. LLC is the company.
"In return for that," Aust went on," there will be some compromise on who builds the road through the middle of the park. Obviously the parks are going to build their own roads. Do we do some cost share ? Well, that was in the original agreement."
Soccer, baseball and softball fields; biking and hiking trails; a water feature; pocket parks; a dog park; conservation areas; amphitheaters; a great lawn; tennis and volleyball courts; pavilions; playground equipment; and picnic areas are all possibilities for the community park.
Connie Edmonston, Parks and Recreation director, has estimated that it could cost $ 20 million. Almost $ 3 million is budgeted and waiting, but fundraising efforts will be necessary for the park.
"I'm really hoping that the people who will benefit from that regional park will get out there and support it. We're starting to reach out to the soccer folks and the tennis folks and the baseball and softball - all those people who will benefit. I really look forward to seeing the parks folks get involved," Aust said.
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