New 74-lot residential subdivision planned in south Fort Smith

Royal Ridge Construction has received Fort Smith Planning Commission approval for a new 74-lot residential subdivision on 23.5 acres near the Old 71 South Road and Spring Mountain Road in south Fort Smith.

The commission on Tuesday (Sept. 10) unanimously approved the plan which now requires approval from the Fort Smith Board of Directors.

The Liberty Ridge subdivision application to the City of Fort Smith notes that the land will support any housing demand from the foreign pilot training center being developed by the U.S. Air Force at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith.

“The City of Fort Smith is expanding both in size and in population. With the expansion/new focus of the Air Base, a large population increase will be expected. The likely demographic that will be moving to Fort Smith with these changes will be small families wanting single family homes. The location on the edge of town and more rural type setting will fill this need for up to 74 new families,” according to the application submitted by Royal Ridge.

Ebbing, home to the 188th Wing in Fort Smith and co-located with the Fort Smith Regional Airport, was selected in March 2023 by the U.S. Air Force to be the long-term pilot training center supporting F-16 and F-35 fighter planes purchased by Singapore, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Finland and other countries participating in the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Initial estimates are that 1,500 military personnel and family members will be associated with the new center once it is fully operational.

Whitney Martinez, project manager of development at Royal Ridge, said the new military mission is not the only reason the company is investing in the project.

“That’s just one of the added benefits to building out this subdivision,” she told Talk Business & Politics.

Martinez said the company did not have estimates about how much the subdivision will cost to develop or the estimated range of home prices. Home sizes are expected to range between 1,900 square feet and 2,200 square feet, but some could be bigger, she said. Work on the subdivision should begin in February 2025, with the first homes under construction soon after that, Martinez said.

“We’re hoping all the homes will have that modern farm house style. I think it will fit in well with that area,” she said.

Justin Green, owner of Justin Green Custom Homes and a long-time home builder in the region, said the home prices could range between $380,000 and $440,000 based on average costs to build homes in the area. He also estimated the subdivision construction – utilities, roads, sidewalks, etc. – could cost around $4.8 million.