Getting Decked on Dickson Street

A Fayetteville city committee, led by Director of Operations Gary Dumas, has decided to ask for proposals from commercial developers Signet Development and Performa Entertainment to building a parking deck. The planned parking structure for visitors to Dickson Street will be south of the Walton Arts Center along West Avenue and Spring Street. Preliminary plans are for 200,000 square feet of commercial space and 500 parking spaces. This raises three questions for local citizens to consider before the bureaucrats get too far along.

First, why does the city want to build the deck in that location? Wouldn’t it preserve the sense of community and make much more sense to build up on the huge expanse of a parking lot west of the Walton Arts Center at West and Dickson? The present plan will wipe out Grub’s and other structures. Why not just deck the existing space instead of taking up even more of prime downtown commercial and residential real estate with parking?

Second, what will this 500 space parking deck look like? Will it be a giant concrete eyesore like the one the University of Arkansas built recently? Will it be one that enhances the built environment, like the one pictured above in Staunton, Virginia? It does make a difference.

Third, although it appears too late to do anything about it, why did the city decide to exclude local businesses from the process and go with out of state firms? Local companies Dixie Development, Haynes Limited, and Flake & Kelley Commercial all submitted preliminary proposals but were rejected outright. The Chamber of Commerce and the Fayetteville Economic Development Council have made no public comment on the decision to outsource jobs. It is amazing that with a Community Design Center and numerous local architects and contractors that none are deemed competent for the task by the city administration.

If any of this matters to you, contact Mayor Coody (575-8330) or Alderman Adella Gray of Ward One (442-4958). Gray is Mayor Coody’s appointed voice on the committee that includes five unelected city employees who will continue making the decisions. Although the proposed parking deck is in Ward Two, Aldermen Kyle Cook and Nancy Allen are not on the committee that will be making decisions having a significant impact on their Ward.