Apartment Complex Proposal Discussed At Jonesboro Planning Commission

A North Carolina company is looking to develop about 16 acres of land near Arkansas State University to build a 240-unit student housing complex, a spokesman for the company said Tuesday.

Attorney Don Parker spoke on behalf of the Zimmer Development Company, based in Wilmington, NC, about the proposed University Woods project at the Jonesboro Metropolitan Area Planning Commission meeting.

No action was taken on the request, but Parker spoke to commissioners for ideas on the proposal.

Under the proposal, the complex will be gated and have two or four-bedroom apartments. Parker said the project would be built in two phases, with about 24 units in each building.

The units, for college students, would be leased on a by-bed basis instead of by unit, Parker said.

The project would also include landscaping to cut down on sound heard by neighbors as well as a detention pond in the back, Parker said.

Supporters of the project have met with neighbors close to where the complex would be built. Parker said the neighbors had expressed some concerns about other complexes in the area.

Several of the commissioners, including Kevin Bailey and Jimmy Cooper, asked about vehicle and walking traffic issues going into and out of the complex.

Parker said a crosswalk could be built in the area to help students from crossing a five-lane highway to walk to classes.

There was also a suggestion by city zoning official Otis Spriggs about creating a turn or a reverse lane to help with vehicle traffic.

Parker said the proposal may be discussed further at the commission’s Aug. 11 meeting in Jonesboro.

HOTELS
The commission also voted Tuesday to approve adding text to the city’s conditional zoning requirements for hotels.

Under the current regulations, hotels can be zoned C-2, but C-2 covers a so-called “Downtown Fringe Commercial District.”

“This district provides for a transitional area between the downtown core commercial district (C-1) and the surrounding older residential areas which have yet to experience intrusions of other type uses. The fringe area is characterized by mixed uses, including offices, services, government facilities and housing,” the ordinance noted. “This district is generally considered an inappropriate location for large retail uses greater than 3,000 square foot, with the exception of C-2 zoned land within the Hotel Corridor area, defined and bound by I-63 (U.S. 63) to the South, Caraway Rd. to the West, Richardson Dr. to the East, and Race Street to the North.”

Under the proposed ordinance, the building of hotels and motels can be zoned conditional. The conditional zoning would require both a conditional use review and approval by the MAPC.

The plan now heads to the Jonesboro City Council for its review.

Since the start of the year, the city has had two major hotel chains express interest in building.

Officials with Arkansas State University said in Feb. 2015 that they were negotiating with O’Reilly Hospitality Management LLC to build an Embassy Suites hotel, a conference center and a Houlihan’s restaurant near the former ASU track on Johnson Avenue.

In May, officials with Haag Brown Commercial announced that a Tennessee-based company, Hunt Properties, had bought 2.28 acres of land near NEA Baptist hospital to build a Courtyard by Marriott.

Construction for the five-story, 106 room hotel is expected to start later this year.