By Kelly Kim Miller
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Over 144 acres of land located right off campus stands poised for development and neighbors say they want to stop it.
Markham hill is the last wooded acreage in Fayetteville. Community members living in the University Heights neighborhood of Fayetteville compared it to New York’s Central Park.
“It’s the last forest…urban forest this side of 49 where the wildlife can escape to,” Lisa Orton, founder of Friends of Markham Hill, said.
The land is also home to a registered historical landmark. A cottage that once belonged to Evangeline Pratt Archer, cofounder of the Ozark Society. Orton said that she is the most well known for saving the Buffalo river and for her philanthropy in Northwest Arkansas.
For over 70 years, bird watchers, hikers, University faculty and staff have come to Markham Hill to enjoy nature.
However, the Archer descendent who previously owned the land went bankrupt and had to sell in 2016. Now Markham Hill is in the lands of a developer that plans to build an apartment complex on the land.
Specialized Real Estate Group’s website boasts sustainable development and a care for conservation. The Friends of Markham Hill dispute that, calling it “Green washing.” It’s a technical term used to describe deceptive marketing that leads the public to believe that a company’s products and services are environmentally friendly.
Sarah King, a spokesman for the Group, said that the company is putting aside 44 acres of land for conservation and plans to put aside more.
Orton doesn’t buy the company’s efforts, saying that they can’t build on that land anyway. However, King said that the company chose the land set aside for a different reason.
“The reason we chose that particular land is because area conservation groups and citizens at large all contributed to the Northwest Arkansas Open Space Plan….and you can consult that and see that the park we set aside is most crucial for conservation,” King said. Evangeline Archer’s historic cottage would be preserved as well according to King.
The Real Estate Group needs to build somewhere and King said that Markham Hill was a really good spot. Multiple media websites such as U.S. News Real Estate identify Northwest Arkansas as a desirable place to live. The population grows every day and people need homes.
Phase one of development can’t start until it gets approved at the city’s next planning commission meeting on December 9th.
Orton still has hope. She said that she had found a philanthropist who expressed interest in purchasing the land for conservation. The only caveat is that she has to persuade the developer to sell.
The Facebook Group, Friends of Markham Hill has a petition on Change. org. It has over 4,351 signatures.