Springdale city streets change hands in votes

SPRINGDALE — The City Council hit the roads Tuesday night as they voted to accept one road and give another away.

The council voted 6-0 for the city to take ownership of the section of Old Wire Road left abandoned as the Arkansas Department of Transportation built a new route for Arkansas 265.

The city’s new road runs north from Randall Wobbe Road to the city limit.

The city also takes responsibility for maintenance of the road. The state previously cared for the road as it held a state highway designation.

“The road is in pretty good shape right now,” said Brad Baldwin, director of the city’s Engineering and Public Works Departments. The state did pavement improvements before turning it over to the city.

Baldwin doesn’t anticipate increased costs for the city to do maintenance when needed. “We accept all those streets from the new neigh- borhoods and subdivisions,” he noted.

For now, the abandoned portion of the road will continue to bear the name “Old Wire Road,” with the new road known as “Arkansas 265,” said Patsy Christie, the director of the city’s planning department.

In addition, the traffic signal in place at Old Wire and Arkansas 264 will become the city’s property and used for spare parts, Baldwin said. The state Highway Department will install a new signal at the intersection of Arkansas 265 and Arkansas 264, which sits in Bethel Heights.

The council also voted 7-0 to schedule a public hearing during the March 12 meeting to hear comments on the plan to abandon right of way for a planned portion of South Cleveland Street which intersects East Emma Avenue.

But no street was ever built there, said Ernest Cate, the city’s attorney. Vacant buildings bearing the sign of Fuels and Supplies sit on the lot at 617 E. Emma Ave., on top of the original right of way for the street.

The original plat of the property ran south from Emma Avenue to Meadow Street, Cate explained.

“The southern portion of the lot was abandoned sometime in the 1970s,” he said. “But I guess they forgot to abandon this part. The title company found it.”

An investment company named 617 E. Emma, the same as the lot, in January purchased the 2-acre property from Quad LLC, according to Washington County records. The company also owns the Apollo Theater and another three-fourths of an acre east of the Center for Nonprofits at the JTL Shop, said Tom Lundstrom Jr., partner in the investment company.

“We have no firm plans for the property,” Lundstrom said. “We’re just taking care of the street easement, starting due process.”

The city’s street plan of the downtown area shows that and surrounding lots slated for residential development.

Lundstrom said the group didn’t buy the land for speculation. “It’s local people investing in downtown Springdale to become involved for the long term in its revitalization.

“We’ll develop it,” Lundstrom continued. “Look for bulldozers.”