Residential Developments Rising in South Fayetteville

Todd Jacobs and Jake Newell have a vision for what a walkable neighborhood should be.

They say a mixture of houses, businesses, stores, restaurants, parks, libraries and other amenities should be within an easy walk of each other.

“Promoting walkability helps create a healthier lifestyle,” Newell said recently.

The two Arkansas natives and University of Arkansas graduates are applying that vision in south Fayetteville, hoping to make people rethink the idea of living in the area. On purpose.

Since forming in the summer of 2010, Jacobs + Newell Co. — a sustainable design and construction company specializing in infill development — has brought 11 homes of varying sizes and unique design out of the ground, primarily on rundown lots that were on their last legs.

Lenders backing the company’s efforts include Legacy National Bank, First Security Bank and First Western Bank & Trust Co.

Two homes have been built and sold a little farther north on South Gregg Street — each approximately 1,540 SF; one for $235,000 and the other for $260,000 — but the majority of activity is in the neighborhoods around Martin Luther King Boulevard and Church and Block avenues.

“It’s fun to watch these guys work; they have a vision for this area,” said Marion Aust, owner of Metro Marketing Realty in Fayetteville. Her company is marketing the properties.

J + N, with in-house development and construction divisions, has completed four tri-level houses on Church Street, ranging in size from approximately 1,300 to 2,100 SF.

Two of them have sold — at $140 per SF — and one has been leased. The fourth, at 2,164 SF, was just recently completed and is being marketed for $107 per SF.

The company soon will start on two more to finish out the block south to West Seventh Street. As many as nine houses are set to come out of the ground in the coming months.

“We’ve sold three houses in six months and are taking early-bird contracts on the houses that haven’t been built yet,” Aust said.

Walking distance to Fayetteville’s downtown entertainment district is a half-mile, Jacobs said. Restaurants (Hugo’s, GreenHouse Grill), shopping (Walgreen’s), parks (Jefferson and Walker) and the Fayetteville Public Library are all within a half-mile walk as well.

Another development, Sycamore Rowhomes, is currently pre-selling. The 1,175-SF homes at the corner of West Fifth Street and South Locust Avenue are two-story, two-bedroom custom properties starting at $160,000.

The company also has six lots between South Block and South East avenues, one of which has been sold. The lots and two-story custom homes, each approximately 1,500 SF, are being offered for $217,000.

All of the J + N properties are Energy Star homes, built to meet energy efficient guidelines set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency.