Fayetteville Developer Revitalizes Historic Homes

When Mark Zweig puts a home on the market, it usually isn’t there for long.

Zweig, who purchases rundown reclamation projects in historic areas of Fayetteville’s downtown and surrounding area, recently had a showing for a total rehab he did on West South Street.

The 1,280-SF home had a weekend showing and Zweig had two offers by the following Tuesday. He purchased the 112-year-old home for $87,000 11 months ago and the sale will close in April for $365,000.

Although that may seem like an eye-popping profit, Zweig is quick to caution that he’s not in it for the money.

“They really aren’t all that profitable,” he said. “I really want to build my reputation for quality work and keep my team together. The market will eventually be better, but you have to have the right location in Fayetteville.

“There’s definitely an adequate stock of homes that need to be redone.”

Zweig, a Renaissance man of sorts with a love of classic cars, architecture and engineering who does all the design and detail work in his projects, bought and rehabbed his first home in Fayetteville in 2004 at 59 Prospect Ave., which is also his residence.

A home at 412 E. Lafayette was featured on the cover of At Home Arkansas in November.

He’s renovated a home he eventually sold to his in-laws and one for his daughter on Church Street.

Zweig bought the house he recently sold on South Street partly because it was such an eyesore when viewed from his daughter’s porch.

Other Zweig projects include:

• 412 E. Lafayette, 3,236 SF, built in 1905. Bought for $270,000 in 2006, sold for $555,000 in 2007.

• 413 N. Willow, 1,792 SF, built in 1926. Bought for $152,000 in 2007, sold for $555,000 in 2008.

• 523 E. Rebecca, 1,236 SF, built in 1940. Bought for $104,000 in 2007, sold for $325,000 in 2009.

Zweig started drawing houses when he was seven, and did his first rehab project in 1982. He did several projects in Boston, working his way up from the second-cheapest home on the market.

He purchased an 1870 Victorian home for $154,000, remodeled it and sold it for $207,000. Zweig eventually worked his way up to a 6-acre lot with a 5,200-SF home that had Pierre du Pont on one side and a former governor of Massachusetts on the other.

Zweig uses the same crews on every project, from plumbers to carpenters to a father-son stone masonry team. At the site of his current project at 534 Willow Ave., his masons built a new chimney as well as the foundation for a 2,000-SF addition that will increase the size of the home to 3,500-SF.

Details like copper trim, claw foot tubs, tin roofs, cedar siding, custom tiles and pendulum lighting set Zweig’s projects apart for his typical buyer.

Three of Zweig’s last four sales have been cash deals.

“My typical buyer went to school here, and they’re usually in their 50s or 60s, coming back here from living out of state somewhere,” Zweig said. “Many can pay cash. They’re not living beyond their means. They’re affluent, health-conscious, highly educated and don’t want a pretentious-looking house.”

Zweig said he sticks to traditional designs, and said many of his buyers enjoy his homes that look much smaller on the outside. The Willow house under renovation now gives no hint there are 3,500-SF inside.

“It’s about understanding your audience,” he said.

“They want something that reminds them of their youth. It’s sort of a fantasy of another time.”