City issues RFP for Cheri Whitlock property
As part of an effort for city staff to develop plans for use of city-owned property, the city of Siloam Springs has issued a Request for Proposal on an undeveloped property on the 3500 block of Cheri Whitlock, directly east of Progress Plaza, northeast of the high school.
The property measures 27.62 acres, and was once part of a proposed housing development that fell into foreclosure. The address of 3500 Cheri Whitlock is tentative and subject to change.
Interested applicants have until Sept. 21 at 2 p.m. to submit their proposals to the city. There will also be an optional pre-proposal meeting in the city annex building at 410 N. Broadway Street on Sept. 6 at 2 p.m. to discuss the RFP and answer questions.
The RFP comes a few months after the city was approached by an interested developer, said Community Development Director Don Clark.
“With publicly owned property, we can’t just put a ‘for sale’ sign out there,” Clark said.
The city will accept proposals until Sept. 21 before opening proposals and extending queries to the top applicants. Next, city staff will choose one proposal to recommend to the Board of Directors. The recommendation is tentatively projected to be in the Nov. 7 Board of Directors meeting. The agenda item up for approval by the city government
would essentially ask for permission to allow the city administrator to begin negotiations.
Any submitted proposals would be expected to include a cover page, a description of the development, identification of the involved entities, a market study, a description of potential public benefits and a proposed timeline.
“It has to fit us,” Communications Manager Holland Hayden said. “It has to fit who we are.”
A fit with the community and city’s economy will be one of the criteria, along with ability to complete the project, potential benefits to the city, benefits to the community and cohesion with the surrounding area. A successful proposal would likely be a commercial development, a
It has to fit us. It has to fit who we are. Holland Hayden Communications Manager
multi-family residential development or a mixeduse development, Clark said. The property is currently zoned commercial.
Clark declined to share details of the interest expressed to the city for the property, but said the interest came from an accomplished developer. Clark said there were also other accomplished developers in the region that may be interested in the area.
The property could be part of what the city expects to be it’s next major developing area, Clark said. The city would be looking to fill one of its existing needs with any potential developer on the property. Clark said the city was looking for a development to fill either a commercial hole of a product or service that isn’t already in the city or a residential development to help address the area’s housing need.
“It’s community development and economic development hand-inhand,” said Clark. “Let’s see if we can match these up, what needs we have and see if there’s going to be a developer that’s going to bring what we want,”
“This is a big project, and we hope that there’s a lot of attention and a lot of interest in it,” said Hayden.