Portions of this article may include opinions of its author.
The Cottages at Meadow’s Edge
The purpose of the special meeting, called by the Alexander Planning Commission, was to hear details about the proposed subdivision and to have some questions answered. Based on speculation about the project some 20 or more residents attended the meeting, which under normal circumstances would have been empty.
Concept
According to Grobmyer most of the construction will occupy the flattest 20 of the 60-acres. First to be built will be a clubhouse/rental office along with some of the cottages. Amenities will include a pool, pickleball courts, workout facility, dog park, walking trails and general green space.
Due to its hilly topography the remaining 40-acres will mostly provide additional green space and possibly more walking trails. There is also a pond on the northeast corner that Grobmyer would like to develop into a fishing pond for children.
“I know some people think, okay, well, the rental you're going to have, you know, you're not going to keep it up, you're not going to take care of, it's going to have maintenance issues and all that kind of thing,” Grobmyer said. “And I understand those are valid questions.”
“The way that we approach a product is we don't build it to sell,” he continued. “It's a long term investment. And, it's a long term cash flow, cash flow opportunity for us.”
“We will have our own management firm that will manage it ourselves, so it will not be a third party manager,” Grobmyer explained. “The reason that's important is because the gentleman (who) is going to operate the management company is related to the owner of the property and is going to be vested in the property as well. So we're all going to have our own skin in the game, which I think should give some sense of easing concerns because, again, it is a long term vested play for us.”
“It's not just, hey, we're going to build it, and it's going to sit out there in Alexander, we're not ever going to go see it, we're not ever going to touch it,” he concluded.
Renters and Management
“So I'm going to be speaking probably for a lot of people here, because I have talked to people and homeowners,” Prowse said. “I think one of the biggest concerns that a lot of Alexandrians have is that when you rent, you have people that just don't have that ‘take care as if they own it and they're having to pay for that' and they're concerned about that.”
“So what kind of price range are you talking about when you're talking about your audience that you want to get in there?” she concluded.
“So we base most of our determination (of rent) on per square foot rent,” Grobmyer said. “Just so you know, and just to do some quick math, our average unit is going to be around, we'll just say 1,000 square feet.”
Grobmyer says the goal is to attract a variety of different types of people in various stages of life.
“The product that we are wanting to develop and bring is going to attract young families,” Grobmyer said. “It's going to attract young professionals, it's going to attract elderly people that are wanting to downsize and not want the maintenance.”
“Because if we do that properly then we'll achieve our concept of community because we want all ages [sic] groups living together,” he continued. ... “We think that's what this country (is) missing a lot of.”
“Right. I just don't want the riff-raff that's in most apartments,” Planning Commission Member Stephanie Beck said. “My land is like right up against it (the property).”
“Sure. Listen, I understand,” Grobmyer responded. “I mean everybody assumes or throws ‘apartments’ in a negative connotation and I think what people sometimes forget is that there's a lot of people in this country that, even if it's a government subsidized housing, that's their only option.”
“Okay? That's not what we develop,” he continued. “There's a lot of people out there that are really good at doing it. That's just not what we do. But, I think there's got to be a balance of everything. And, I know what we do really well and we stay in our lane and that is we develop what I would consider; we grade them A, B, C, D properties.”
“We do only ‘A’ and I would consider this property an A-minus,” Grobmyer said. “Meaning it's not our Rolls Royce product that we build in downtown Bentonville (Arkansas).”
“Maybe this is a stepping stone for them to come in, be in our development, and then they want to move on to ownership and they go across the street into Meadow’s (Edge) or into St. Joseph’s Glen,” he added.
Currently, the only “apartments” in Alexander are located in North Alexander in two locations. One set are in three buildings surrounded by E. 1st Street, E. 2nd Street and A. C. Wallace Avenue. The second set of apartments are in two buildings at the corner of E. 2nd Street and Main Street. All the buildings are single story.
Traffic
“I know in order for us to grow, we do need more dense housing,” Prowse said. “I know one of the other concerns is the traffic through there. Have you all thought about that?”
Grobmyer said he’s been in discussions with the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT) concerning Highway 111. If allowed to build, the development’s entrance will join Highway 111 directly across from the entrance to Meadow’s Edge; forming a four-way intersection.
Even though a traffic light is considered the solution to all traffic woes, that probably won’t happen here. Grobmyer said ArDOT will be conducting a traffic study. But, based on conversations he’s had with ArDOT officials the final solution may be adding a third lane in order to create a center left turn lane.
“They (ArDOT) feel that there's not enough of a linear stretch to warrant a light at this time,” Grobmyer said. “What they would probably require us to do is to pay for the widening of that section right there for a turn lane where you have a turn lane for both ways coming in and out of Meadow’s Edge and our development.”
What Grobmyer described will consist of ArDOT building a new northbound lane, on property owned by the developers, next to the current northbound lane. The current northbound lane will then become a center left-turn lane. The widening project will be funded by the developers.
Grobmyer opined that another single-family development built across from Meadow’s Edge would probably result in the same traffic problems.
“I'm pretty sure ... if you did it with a residential home builder, detached homes, I think they're going to have the same issue whether it's us or not,” Grobmyer said. “There's got to be some improvement.”
The chicken or the egg
Ever since Alexander accepted ownership of the former Alexander Human Development Center from the state, developing it into a retail center has always been the goal. Now that the Pathfinders’ lease has expired, the last remnants of state ownership, the final impediment keeping the city from looking for a developer is gone.
Unfortunately, retail developers like lots of roof tops to provide a local customer base. And, people like to live near at least one source of groceries. The eternal problem of the chicken and the egg.
As Grobmyer prepared to leave he said, “Thank you. I appreciate you all coming out tonight. I appreciate everybody's input. Thank you all. We've got some work that we need to determine and how we want to move forward.”
Next steps
However, the entity he is most interested hearing from now is the Alexander City Council. If the council is going to object to this type of development there’s no need to continue with the project.
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