Fayetteville, University of Arkansas on the verge of a deal.

Markham Hill, Razorback Road exchange focus on recreation, preserved green space

FAYETTEVILLE — The ink is almost dry on a land swap deal between the city and University of Arkansas that has long been in the works.

The city and university started talking about four years ago about swapping land. The university wanted to expand its recreational facilities. Mayor Lioneld Jordan was interested in preserving green space.

The two sides eventually agreed on a simple exchange involving no monetary transaction, aside from closing costs. The city would get just more than 62 acres of the more than 200-acre Markham Hill, west of campus. The university inherited the land from the Pratt, Markham and Archer line of families, who began living there in the early 1900s. Specialized Real Estate Group acquired another 140-plus acres in a bankruptcy sale in 2016.

The university would receive 10 acres east of Razorback Road, south of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Fayetteville High School. The city refers to the land as the Indian Trail property. There’s a small road that runs along the northern border of the property with the same name, behind Chickfil-A, Sonic, Arby’s and other businesses.

The Markham Hill property was appraised in April at nearly $3.1 million. Indian Trail was appraised in February 2019 at just more than $2.8 million.

Both sides were in agreement, but state law in 2017 required municipal land sales be open to competitive bidding. The law was amended last year to waive that requirement, paving the way for the deal to go through.

The city’s bond referendum, some council measures that gained attention and the coronavirus pandemic took precedence over the past year or so, but administrators are ready to come to the table and sign on the dotted line, said Susan Norton, Jordan’s chief of staff.

“This idea of swapping the land really has been worked for quite some time,” she said. “It just kept taking a back seat to everything else.”

The university system’s trustees approved the deal during its Wednesday meeting. The City Council will take it up Tuesday. Closing date is scheduled for Aug. 15.

INHERITING A GIFT

The city’s main interest in the transaction is preserving tree canopy and green space in the middle of town while providing access to the public with soft-surface trails, Norton said.

Talks between the city and university predated a rezoning at Markham Hill that sparked outcry from several residents in 2018.

The City Council granted two rezoning requests from Specialized Real Estate Group for a neighborhood and mixed-use development project it plans for 144 acres on Markham Hill.

One request was to change the original planned zoning district for about 24 acres at the top of the hill, which features the Pratt Place Inn and Barn. Specialized presented plans for more than 5,000 square feet of event space, 12,000 feet of restaurant and commercial space, 80 hotel rooms and 43 homes.

The second request rezoned the rest of the hill, about 120 acres, from a purely single-family zone to one allowing single-family homes up to quadplexes at a higher density, with 44 of the 120 acres left as a preserve. Specialized agreed to a 476-unit cap on the residential development.

The city’s area at the western slope of Markham Hill would tie into the 44-acre conservation area on the Specialized side. The hope is to eventually have a network of soft-surface trails anyone can go to on the public and private sides, said Sarah King with Specialized Real Estate.

“Even back when we were talking about rezoning, our intention was to share the property under our stewardship on Markham Hill,” she said. “It’s beautiful. The north side and the west side of that hill are really beautiful woodlands with large, mossy boulders.”

Joy Pratt Markham bequeathed her land at the hill to the university upon her death in 1976, according to Lisa Orton, a resident who spearheaded a campaign to save Markham Hill from development and has researched its history and the people who lived there extensively. A portion of the property was co-owned by Markham’s sister, Evangeline Archer. When Archer died, her son Julian worked out a deal in 1985 in which the university exclusively owned the nearly 63 acres.

Markham wanted to give the land to the university so professors and students could study the botany and wildlife, Orton said. She also wanted an inexpensive children’s camp established to give needy families an opportunity to experience nature first-hand.

The camp never came to fruition, but the university left the property mostly in its natural state. The university’s cross country team has trained for years on some soft trails that run through the property. It’s also a popular spot for researchers and nature enthusiasts.

Orton said she supports the city’s move to acquire the land. The city can better guarantee the family’s wishes for the land will be honored, she said.

“The city could own 63 acres of the former or 10 acres of the latter,” Orton said. “I encourage the city to own the 63 acres. It would be healthier for Fayetteville residents and would help preserve land important to Fayetteville’s history.”

A conservation easement can be worked out after the city gets the Markham Hill land, Norton said. A conservation easement legally protects land from urban development in perpetuity.

Markham Hill could become part of a larger vision to create a loop of soft-surface trails reaching to nearby Centennial Park to the west, south to Kessler Mountain, east to Cato Springs Road and back north to campus.

The Walton Family Foundation, through NWA Trailblazers, is behind the plan. The Fayetteville Traverse trail is still in the concept stage, and several property easements will have to be acquired to make the dream a reality, said Erin Rushing, NWA Trailblazers executive director. The nonprofit group has built several soft trails in Benton County and a few at Kessler Mountain.

The idea started simply: how to get university students from campus to Kessler without a car, Rushing said. The aspiration grew with support from the city and university, he said.

The goal is preservation and access, Rushing said. By procuring property easements, the Trailblazers can ensure land will be saved from urban development, he said.

A 15- to 20-mile loop of soft trails would serve as a tourism attraction for hikers and bikers as well, Rushing said. Outdoor recreation is one activity that appears to have survived the pandemic, he said.

Rushing estimated the Fayetteville Traverse trail could take up to 10 years to become reality.

“Our specialty is figuring out how to get from point A to point B, make it feasible, talk to property owners and come up with a concept plan that’s fun, unique and safe,” he said.

The Fayetteville Traverse loop would reach the Indian Trail property as well.

The university wants to add some soft-surface trails, similar to the trails at Gregory Park, said Eric Boles, director of the university’s Office for Sustainability. The project will be made possible through a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, he said.

Anyone from the public will be able to use the trails, which will be built with mountain biking in mind, Boles said.

“This will be a nice play stop along the Fayetteville Traverse, and an amazing resource for FHS students, U of A students and anyone who likes to play outside,” he said.

The university also plans to install tennis courts for students, Chancellor Joe Steinmetz told trustees Wednesday. The board approved the money to spend on expanding recreation facilities about four years ago.

Students have been asking for recreational tennis courts for a long time, Steinmetz said.

“It’s been a long journey, but we’ve come to a point where we think it’s mutually beneficial for both the city and university,” he said.