Lucky Rabbits Foot for Springdale (OPINION)

Springdale has a chance to purchase 40 acres and the historic Rabbit’s Foot Lodge on Silent Grove Road. Go for it, Springdale.

Mayor Doug Sprouse recently brought the proposal to the City Council, and now he’s negotiating the $1-million deal with property owner Karen Morton.

When Sprouse has all the details worked out, he’ll come back to the council and put it to a vote. The money is there and the reasoning is sound. The acreage would link J.B. Hunt Park to Lake Springdale and the Razorback Regional Greenway.

As a bonus, the purchase would include the lodge, a handsome, well-maintained log cabin perched atop a wooded hill overlooking the spring-fed Dancing Rabbit Creek. Once owned by lawyer, scholar and longtime senator J. William Fulbright, the cabin could be put to a variety of uses.

Sprouse, a businessman at heart, said it would be best if the 3,000-SF lodge was owned by the city but operated by a private entity. He’s right. And who knows. In time, that cabin, with its wraparound porch and stone fireplace, could become the premier stop along the 36-mile trail from Bella Vista to Fayetteville.

Of course, there are probably some naysayers. But they need to take a good, hard look at what’s going on in Northwest Arkansas.

As part of a partnership, Fayetteville recently spent $1.5 million for 376 acres on Mount Kessler to be used for recreation. Rogers recently laid out $500,000 to help bring the Walmart AMP to Pinnacle Hills. And in Bentonville, the city is installing the utility infrastructure for its planned arts and market district south of the square.

See a pattern here?

Sprouse does, and that’s why he’s working on the Rabbit’s Foot deal. The property owner said she’s going to sell, regardless. The buyer should be Springdale.