First phase of property development OK’d

GREENWOOD — The first phase for a commercial and residential development at the main western entrance into the city got the green light to proceed.

The City Council unanimously approved the final plat for Phase 1A of the Curve at its meeting Monday, as well as requiring a $300,000 surety bond from the developer for the project. Travis Plummer, the city attorney, is set to consider approving the bond at a later time.

The City Council approved annexing the Curve property — 36 acres comprising six parcels at the northwest corner of West Center Street and U.S. 71 — into Greenwood on April 4 . The property is owned by Jacob Burton of MJE Construction and is planned to be a mixed-use development.

Cheryl Garner of Fort Smith-based Keller Williams Platinum Realty, who’s working with Burton to market the Curve, said Monday the City Council’s approval of the Phase 1A plat will allow Burton to transfer the land included in the plat — about 1.6 acres — to a purchaser who will build on it.

Garner identified the purchaser as Braum’s, an Oklahoma-based food service chain known for its burgers and dairy products, although she declined to disclose what the purchase price will be.

“We’re excited,” Garner said. “This is the entrance to it, and it’s the beginning, it’s the start. With a lot of these foundational issues in place, now we’re poised to move forward with the development.”

Garner said in April the Curve’s infrastructure would be developed in phases as its planned 20 lots are sold. Multifamily buildings, multistory commercial buildings, restaurants, a convenience store and a boutique hotel are among the developments envisioned, along with a new, larger facility for the Scott-Sebastian Regional Library in Greenwood. The plan for the Curve, which is to be a walkable community, also includes water feature amenities and an amphitheater.

Mayor Doug Kinslow in April said the Curve development would be a tremendous asset to the city. He believed it would provide Greenwood greater diversity in where people can shop or live and draw many off U.S. 71 who don’t typically come into the city unless it’s necessary for their commute. It’s also expected to generate sales tax revenue.

Garner said Chad Brixey with Brixey Engineering and Land Surveying in Fort Smith designed the Phase 1A plat and the infrastructure associated with the development of the phase, according to Garner.

Brixey also came up with the cost estimates for that infrastructure. This consisted of about $223,476 for streets and drainage — including for an entrance road onto the Curve property from West Center Street, formerly Arkansas 10 Spur — $14,388 for a sewer extension and $36,371 for a water extension. This came out to an estimated total of $274,235. .

A BOND FOR BRAUM’S

Greenwood initially required Burton to provide a $274,235 surety bond for Phase 1A to move forward.

Sonny Bell, Greenwood’s planning director, explained Wednesday the bond is a protective measure to allow the city to find another developer to complete the project as the City Council approved it should Burton withdraw.

Burton will have to secure a legal bond from a bonding company, which will involve paying a certain percentage of the bonding amount, according to Bell. He will then have to furnish the city with that bond.

“There will be a period of time that there will be a warranty on all that work,” Bell said. “Once that project is complete, then the developer will come to us and ask to be released from that bond, and we will, in turn, return that to him and tell the bonding company that he has been released.”

However, the City Council on Monday approved the bonding at $300,000 after Dalton Moore, director of the city Wastewater Department, recommended more money was needed to take into account the labor costs that would be incurred through putting in a sewer line for Phase 1A. The cost estimate for the sewer extension portion of the project Brixey provided didn’t include these costs.

Bell said he expected Plummer to decide whether to approve the $300,000 bond within 24-48 hours of the city receiving the document.

Garner said she didn’t know when construction for the Curve’s Phase 1A will begin or end. Outside the planned Braum’s, the Curve has seen “high interest” in several of its lots.