Heading Uptown: Improved Roads Anchor Fayettevilles Prospects

When Fayetteville mayor Lioneld Jordan was still an alderman and member of the street committee, he envisioned a transportation “box” girding the city.

When he became mayor in 2009, he vowed to make the box a reality. Seven years into his mayoralty, he’s still having his way as yet another link was added with the 1-mile extension of West Van Asche Drive in uptown between Gregg and Garland avenues.

Moreover, land on both sides of the Van Asche extension is already included in a 185-acre rezoning proposal, submitted by developer and real estate broker Tom Terminella. Once approved, the land will be ripe for an array of commercial development. 

Terminella described the Van Asche area as the “equivalent of Pinnacle for Washington County,” and has submitted five parcels — three for 125 acres south of Van Asche, and two for 60 acres north of the road — for a mix of C2, C3, and Urban Thoroughfare zoning categories.

The property, currently vacant and zoned residential-agricultural, is owned by the WG Land Co. LTD Partnership, a Whitfield and Green family trust that has owned the property for years. Terminella said the rezoning process could take a few months to conclude.

 Jordan, meanwhile, is basking in the glory of Van Asche, which along with the new flyover at College Avenue, will only enhance the city’s fortunes. 

“It will be an economic boon for the city,” Jordan said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

The opening and proposed rezoning of Van Asche comes as another piece of the box, the extension of Rupple Road between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Wedington Drive, is being built. While mixed-use development is expected in the Rupple area, the predominant construction there will be residential subdivisions.

 Terminella expects Van Asche land values to rise to about $100 million with an additional $800 million in “vertical assets” on top of that. In describing the Van Asche property, Terminella called it “special.” 

What the area will become is perhaps best described by the verbiage in the Urban Thoroughfare zoning description.

“The Urban Thoroughfare District is designed to provide goods and services for persons living in the surrounding communities,” it reads. “This district encourages a concentration of commercial and mixed-use development that enhances function and appearance along major thoroughfares.”

Terminella’s zoning proposal comes as uptown Fayetteville explodes with activity. UARK Federal Credit Union is building a bank at the northwest corner of Van Asche and Steele Boulevard. A 306-unit apartment complex is planned on an 18-acre parcel at the northeast corner of Van Asche and Steele, and a brewery is in the works by Jody Thornton, the owner of JJ’s Grill, on the southwest corner of the intersection.

A 1.7-acre parcel just west of Taziki’s Mediterranean Café, and a 4.3-acre tract at the Van Asche cul-de-sac, are under contract with buyers, and Specialized Real Estate Group is building a 300-unit, trailside apartment and mixed-used community on Steele between Joyce Boulevard and Mud Creek, just north of Van Asche.

The $5 million Van Asche extension includes four lanes, lighting, a median, trees, and an adjacent trail.
The road was built by APAC-Central Inc. of Fayetteville. The project is part of the 2006 bond program approved by voters.