Springdale pursuing property by the airport

SPRINGDALE — The City Council on Monday said it would consider the purchase of a building that sits in front of the city’s airport.

Mayor Doug Sprouse presented a letter of intent to buy the Atco Rubber Products building and the land it sits on at 1403 S. Powell St. The city would make an offer to pay $2.5 million, Sprouse noted.

The council in March told Sprouse to pursue a possible purchase of the building.

A letter of intent would be the first step in drafting a formal purchase and sales agreement, reads the letter as prepared by Greg Taylor, an executive broker with Griffin Company Realtors.

Taylor is handling the discussions for the city with officials from Mueller Industries in Memphis, Tenn. Mueller purchased Atco in 2018.

“I continue to think this is a very important acquisition for our city,” Sprouse said.

The building sits between the Springdale Municipal Airport and Powell Street.

Sprouse has said he would like to see East Sunset Avenue extended east to South Powell Street and create a new entrance to the airport.

He noted the Springdale School District has plans to rebuild Jones Elementary School, which neighbors the airport, behind the current school building.

Patsy Christie, director of the city’s Planning Department, noted new residential development is planned in the neighborhoods near the airport.

And the extension of Sunset Avenue as a major collector street was put on the city’s Master Street Plan in 2017, she said.

Sprouse said the letter would not bind the city or Atco into any agreements.

The letter, once signed by both bodies, would set usable terms for negotiation of the purchase, he said.

“It gets the conversation started,” Sprouse said.

The letter also would set 90 days for both sides to research and come to an agreement.

The 59,400-square-foot building and 5 acres was appraised at $2.54 million in the summer of 2021, Sprouse reported. The Washington County Assessor shows a 2021 market value assessment of $1,711,600.

The city would lease the building back to Atco at $3 a square foot for three or four years.