mzweig

Lighting isn't finalized. That is just a rendering done for purposes of showing people the basic look we will have. Mark I'm doing 17 apartments on the old Twin Arch Motel site that will be just that. They will be fully-furnished and have utilities included and are aimed at adults, not students. Definitely a need! Mark

Here's a quick look at how we will be modifying the building at 218 N. Church and turning it into four condos along with garages and a studio condo out back. Yes it is boxy, but we are working with the existing monolithic steel and concrete structure that is there and adding a second floor to it. The flavor will be decidedly Asian and the interiors mid-century modern (if buyers will allow us to do what we think is best). Each unit will be on a single floor, have wide floor plates, high ceilings, and tons of covered porches on the front and side of each unit.

Is this really it--hanging over the street like that? They are selling quickly. I know two different couples who have already put one of these under contract.

The problem with modern here is threefold. First, it is done poorly. Random materials used for no reason, poor detailing of the buildings in terms of roofs and water, and a lot more. I like modern but think it is done poorly here. Second, it appeals to a younger age group. 50 year olds in this part of the country don't like it. Third, the 50 year olds have the money. Modern does not sell for the same price per square foot as more traditional design. All said, though, I would love to do GOOD modern residential here. I wish Summit Place had been designed for multi-family row housing down low and I had done the buildings as rentals in a West Coast modern style. The hillside would have been ideal for that. Also--mid-century modern really seems to be taking hold. I have done a couple of those houses and love it. Would like to build new ones. They appeal to a middle-aged group and are also not expensive to build, tho do require larger lots because they need to be ranches with big roof overhangs.

Fayetteville city government is a mess. Because of our weak mayor and a city council that is obsessed with creating scooter insurance laws/mailbox parking laws/pushing their own social agenda as opposed to actually creating an environment for growth in our city, more and more investment and potential investment is heading north. Being "development friendly" is perceived as a bad thing by those who are currently controlling our local government. I'm afraid that they are all so disconnected and unfamiliar with what it means to take huge risks and make investments in real estate (and improving it) that they just don't mind running everyone off. We will be left with more empty storefronts and a declining tax base if we cannot get some more pragmatic, business-oriented people in our local government. You can only push these distracting genda items so far while at the same time ignoring business before the consequences will be felt. The barriers to redeveloping North College have got to be eliminated. The vertical height restrictions are diametrically opposed to low impact development and sustainability. We need a plan to actively attract the type of businesses that we need here. We need more high quality office space. We need to plant trees and bury power lines. We need to enforce our property maintenance standards. We just need some common sense badly. I am hoping to see a major change in city government come the next election and hope some intelligent, moderate, and reasonable leaders emerge here who can see the big picture.

I really wish I could build a more affordable product. I can't do it downtown. I am paying $100/ft for total wrecks (when I'm lucky). I just had someone in Wash Willow try to sell me a house that needs to be redone for over $200/ft. How can I redo it, pay interest and real estate commissions and come out on that? We are working hard to reduce our costs, though....but it isn't easy!

Guys--I have sold a number of houses for $300+ per foot in downtown Fayetteville over the last 10 years. Yes they are expensive but my costs to buy and renovate to the standard we do them is very high. Not really worried about the price of either of these two--one is $819K and the other $899K but with optional detached garage apt and pool house with kitchen, bath and FP takes it to $1.1 million. Not a huge market for what we do but it is there. We just sold a house at Summit Place (not as good as one block off Dickson) that is 1500 sq feet above grade for $393K. It does have a roughly 500 sq ft partly-finished basement, too, but that is not valued at same $ per square foot. You want a condo for $300+ per foot or a single family house that is super high quality? The house usually wins..... Mark

You all should check out our two houses one block off Dickson at 120 W. Spring and 208 N. Church. Spring is nearing completion. Church is still in the framing stage but has an optional apartment above the garage and optional pool and poolhouse. Total value of these two houses is approx. $1.9 million.

Rod--Todd Jacobs formerly of Jacobs Newell has designed a number of those. A house on S. Church and South St. built for the owner of Mustache was designed by Albert Skiles.

Guys--the mega student housing projects we have going in on "Crazy Eric's Corner" and in and around Maple and Lafayette are going to be transformational. I cannot believe all the concrete--wow! These are going to be some real buildings. The effect of all these added people living in the downtown area will have to be a good one for our businesses in and around Dickson and The Square. It's pretty amazing really that these developers are taking the kinds of risks they are but God bless 'em! We are going to be a real city before long. Mark

I prefer Kum and Go, in spite of their wacky name! M

I know I'm the critic but I just hope whatever goes up has the right architectural details. I am damn sick of "cottages" and "bungalows" that have the wrong windows (no muntins or wrong muntin pattern), wrong doors, wrong siding, wrong proportions, wrong window locations, bad rooflines, wacky columns (I've seen a lot of that lately), ugly paving, bad landscaping, wrong light fixtures, etc. Do something good--not a crappy characature of it! Mark

I once heard that hibachi steakhouses are the single most profitable type of restaurant you can have. There's little menu variety, everyone gets the same salad, soup, and sides, and the cook is the primary server. Ticket prices are high, and people don't tend to linger at the tables when they are eating wih strangers..... Could explain why so many of them! M

I have to say while I'm tickled to see something built down here the architecture is pretty bad. I don't know how people come up with such strange combinations of colors and materials as done on these buildings! M

Gee, thanks, Guys. I started a new topic on this project where i can share more info on it. I am really excited about what we'll be doing up there! M

I heard Albert Skiles designed this. Putting that box right next to the existing struture with its extreme roof pitch dumping water right next to it is typical of something Skiles would do. Not a good idea in my opinion.

Agreed. That is just ridiculous! Mark I agree wi you on all counts. Really dumb. We have huge vacant lots now. Build on those. This is really stupid. Bad planning. No leadership in the City. Mark

Studies have been done before on this topic. The U.S. Trust for Historic Preservation used to have something called "The Main Street USA" program. I bought the book for a town I lived in once and it was all about how to revitalize your downtown. It states right in the book that when business is bad the business owners will immediately claim lack of parking or paid parking is the problem and rarely is that the problem. Businesses have to have something that people want to buy! Seems so fundamental. If they want it, they will do anything to get it. Is there free parking in NYC or Boston? Heck no, and yet there are some very successful small businesses in those places. I have no problem with the paid parking--I'm more likely to find a spot. What I don't care for is the slow-assed machines that take five minutes of standing in the sun to process my credit card. It is like they are dialing up on a 15 year-old modem or something to relay the CC info. Slow! Not convenient. Other than that, the paid parking almost assures me of always finding a spot. M Maybe the "Reptile Museum" could co-locate with these people. Better yet, get the Tarot lady from College to put in a spot there, too. Then we could have a weird troicha of local attractions that might be worth visiting when one has an hour to kill! M

Thanks, Rod. I predict that soon there will be a rental housing shortage in the downtown/campus area that will spread to a shortage of properties for sale. Student population is growing and some portion of executive transferees are going to be reluctant to buy.... Mark

I have a new project that I am working on. It is 15 N. Church St.-- the former home of 40/29 and before that, Ozarks Electric Warehouse. My plan is to completely redo the building and turn it into 8 condos ranging from a little over 500 sq. ft. to around 1300 sq feet at largest. Would also carve a lot/yard off and build a new house on locust, as the property goes clear thru from Church to Locust. I have the property under contract. Have not closed yet. Plan on closing mid-August if all goes well. Everyone thinks condos are crazy, but in my opinion the ones for sale have been either poorly-designed, too expensive, in the wrong location, or some combination of all of those. I am designing this project with a lot of help from local architect, Jim Key, who also did the conversion of the derelict Curry's Video building into the Skatetorium-- what i considered to be a real transformation of a turd into something quite nice (tho I desperately want to see the owners cut down the horrible weeds sprouting all around it!) Mark

I rely on you all for the inside scoop on what's going on! The building is on North side of Trenton between College and the Park. It is about 13-14k sq feet in total. Designed by same architect who designed old library (Fulbright Building)--Warren Seagraves-- just not as neat! One problem with East Plaza--lots and lots of wasted space. Common areas are so large it kills your lease rate. Also, no parking. I have needs for a lot of spaces. Employees don't like having to pay to park.

I tried leasing about 6000 square feet on the main floor for one of my businesses--ZweigWhite (where the vault is) about two months ago and struck out. The owners weren't able to be close to competitive for office space in this market. We have instead leased a big chunk of the old FDC building on Trenton near Wilson Park from Tim Cooper. We will be getting new parking lots, improved landscaping, a new entrance, and a number of windows cut through the brick in the back of the building, as well as some interior mods to meet our needs. Mark

Thanks, good to know. We have a current lease over here at Three Sisters and I am trying to roll that into a bigger space but this building owner doesn't seem that concerned that their entire office space on second floor is vacant...soo...maybe we do need to look at other options. We need it fast, though. I really want to stay here. So convenient! M

ZweigWhite is a management consulting, research, publishing and training firm that serves the architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting "industry" (if you can call it that). We also have a new investment banking division that not only does traditional M&A services but also helps provide financing. The company was twice named to the Inc. 500 List of fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. and we hope to get back on that list once again! M see http://www.zweigwhite.com Any changes in the plans are probably a result of someone complaining. Sometimes it seems like we respond to the last person who complains about something which is too bad in my opinion! M