Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
School District selling 40 acres in Bentonville
BENTONVILLE — The School District has arranged to sell 40 acres to a home-building company for $1.6 million, according to district finance director Janet Schwanhausser.
The land is at the northwest corner of Southwest Wentworth Avenue and Southwest Bright Road, just west of Willowbrook Elementary and Bright Field Middle schools. It’s part of 239 acres the district bought in 2008 for $7.1 million.
The district bought the land with plans to build as many as six schools on it, Schwanhausser said.
The district built and opened three schools on parts of the property since 2012.
Traffic issues associated with rapid population growth in the neighborhood weren’t anticipated in 2008, so the district has decided against building more schools there, Schwanhausser said.
The district in March requested an appraisal on the property that came in about $1.56 million. The land was put up for sale with an asking price of $1.6 million.
A for-sale sign was placed on the property April 17. The district received a full-price offer April 19. That offer, from Buffington Homes of Arkansas, was accepted May 1, Schwanhausser said.
Schwanhausser shared the news at Monday’s School Board meeting. Joe Quinn, a board member, marveled at how quickly the land was snatched up.
“Two days and we got $1.6 million,” Quinn said. “Amazing. Just amazing.”
The board will be asked to approve the transaction at its June 19 meeting. The district had one other offer of just more than $1 million, Schwanhausser said.
Clay Carlton, a co-owner of Buffington Homes, said he intends to build a residential subdivision on the property. He couldn’t say what price point the neighborhood’s homes will offer.
“We’re still working on the plat right now,” Carlton said. “I’m not even sure how many lots there will be.”
Buffington Homes, based in Fayetteville, has more than 40 years of experience building homes, according to its website. The company has developed three other neighborhoods within a few blocks of the property it’s buying, he said.
“We’re probably selling six homes a month in that area,” Carlton said.
Two houses advertised for sale on Buffington Homes’ website are in the nearby Central Park neighborhood. Both are listed in the $400,000 range.
Troy Galloway, director of community and economic development for Bentonville, said he wasn’t surprised to hear a developer pounce on the land opportunity.
“It kind of grows white hot out there,” Galloway said. “We’ve seen a lot of new home construction out in the southwest part of the city.”
With its close proximity to schools and good access to utilities, the property is in a good position to be developed as a neighborhood, he said.
More people means more traffic. Most of the traffic from the Bright Road neighborhood funnels out to Southwest Regional Airport Boulevard, which recently was widened from two to five lanes between Rainbow Curve on Walton Boulevard west slightly past Shell Road, a total of 2.7 miles.
That project will help, but keeping up with transportation needs in that area will continue to be a challenge, Galloway said.
The School District has responded to the growth in its southwest sector. Osage Creek Elementary School and Creekside Middle School are on schedule to open this fall on Featherston Road.
The district this year has been busy buying land, a total of 257 acres for future school construction. Among the properties is a 40-acre plot about 3 miles south of the land the district is selling. The district agreed to pay $1,056,000 for the land, or $26,400 per acre.
Selling the property at Wentworth Avenue and Bright Road is a somewhat complex matter because the district bought it with tax-exempt debt, Schwanhausser said.
“And we still have some of that debt. So we have to follow a certain set of procedures,” she said.
Once the property is sold, the district will be required to spend that money within 24 months, most likely on a capital project, Schwanhausser said.
The district will be left with about 127 vacant acres from the 239 purchased in 2008, according to facilities director Paul Wallace.
Clay Carlton, a co-owner of Buffington Homes, said he intends to build a residential subdivision on the property. He couldn’t say what price point the neighborhood’s homes will offer.