Commission approves cottages in Springdale

SPRINGDALE — Members of the Planning Commission approved a rezoning Tuesday night for a neighborhood of townhomes and cottages.

Landmarc Custom Homes will build the Cottages at the Park subdivision at the intersection of South Downum Road and West County Line Road. The site is adjacent to the Shaw Family Park under development in Springdale’s northwest quarter.

Plans call for the neighborhood to include 181 lots with a density of four lots per acre if completely developed in three phases. The brick and stone structures will range from 1,800 square feet in phase one to 2,700 square feet in phase three.

Commission members allowed variances to typical single-family homes built in Springdale. Houses will sit on narrow lots and closer to the streets to “create a feeling of community,” reads the project’s production plan. All homes will be built along one lot line, with a minimum to 10 feet between it and the next structure.

A Property Owners Association will take over the responsibility for lawn and landscape maintenance of every home in the neighborhood and enforcing the covenants agreed upon by the builder and city officials. The association also will maintain 107 acres of open space and a community swimming pool.

The “cottage” style neighborhood marks just the second in Springdale, with HarBer Meadows standing as the other example.

“With all the buyers coming into the market, there are a lack of these type of homes,” said Tom Boudrey, owner of Landmarc. “Bentonville has one. Rogers and Fayetteville each have one. It’s time for one in Springdale.”

“We keep getting requests from buyers who want to downsize,” said Jackson Williams, a real estate agent with Weichert-Griffon. “Millennials are telling us they want less maintenance and more walkability.”

Jason Appel, an engineer with Engineering Services in Springdale, noted the construction timeline of the project mirrors that of Shaw park, with both expected to be completed in about a year.