Developer offers to buy Ark-Mo land
A local developer’s proposal for the Ark-Mo land came before the POA Board of Directors during Thursday’s work session.
The Ark-Mo land — so named because it straddles the Arkansas-Missouri state line — is 367 acres dissected by Gordon Hollow Road. The land was purchased in 2000 when the Property Owners Association considered building a new golf course. At that time the existing courses — six 18-hole courses and two nine-hole courses — were often full and members could not always get a tee time. The property on either side of the Arkansas-Missouri state line is owned by the POA, but is not common property. It was never developed.
Linda Lloyd, principal broker at Acorn Realty and a member of the Bella Vista City Council, told the board that she has been looking for land to develop. The ArkMo land was not her first choice, she said, explaining that there are some challenges to overcome.
A portion on the east side of the tract is probably unusable because it is so steep and so difficult to access. That could become common property for her new development or it might be sold with the lots that border it. Lloyd said a flood plane study will be necessary before a more-detailed plan can be produced.
Although the exact terms of her offer were not discussed in the open meeting, Lloyd asked the board to help finance her project for two years. She would pay 5 percent interest on the loan. At the end of two years, she would refinance if necessary and pay off the POA-financed loan in full, she said.
After the meeting she said her offer was for $1.1 million dollars, which is slightly more than the POA paid 17 years ago. There’s little risk to the POA, she said, because the loan would only cover the cost of the land. All other costs for surveys and a flood plane study would be paid by her company. The up-front expenses would have to be paid before any lots are sold.
Because the Arkansas section of the tract falls under the jurisdiction of the city’s Planning
Commission, adding infrastructure there would be difficult. Her plan is to use the existing roads and divide the property in estate lots along with smaller lots with road frontage. Those lots would probably have well water and a septic tank, although she hasn’t ruled out Bella Vista utilities.
“I’m a green developer,” Lloyd said. Her development would be environmentally friendly and residents would become members of a new POA or homeowners association with its own covenants. Although her development would not be part of the Bella Vista POA, she would provide membership lots in Bella Vista so each new owner could use the amenities.
In the Missouri part of the tract, new roads would be easier to build because there are fewer regulations. The most densely populated section of her plan would be in Missouri and would include a co-housing development and a tiny-house development.
“Linda Lloyd is a well respected local real estate agent and a city of Bella Vista City councilman,” POA Board member John Nuttall said after the meeting. “I’m sure she has very good knowledge of the local real estate market. She has experience doing similar projects in other parts of the country. Her eco-friendly business plan is sound and would be good for the area.”
Because Thursday’s meeting was a work session, the board did not vote on the proposal. Chairman Ron Stratton said the board will consider it.
In other business, the board heard about an air-conditioning issue in the kitchen at Lakepoint Events Center and approved an emergency measure to make Stratton an authorized signer for the POA.