By: Jonathan Teal
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – If you ask a U of A student about Dickson Street, they will talk about how Dickson Street is a place of fun and entertainment. “I go to Dickson to hang out with my friends and enjoy the environment,” said Nate Mooney, a senior at the U of A. “I have never thought about how it could improve.”
Luckily, the City of Fayetteville thought for years on how to improve the Dickson Street area. Their decision was to add a cultural arts corridor in the heart of Dickson Street.
The people of Fayetteville voted in favor of a $31 million bond issue for the construction of the cultural arts corridor. The project is being constructed in two phases. The first phase will feature improvements to the outdoor environment of Dickson, such as the Razorback Greenway and the Fay Jones Woods. The second phase is dedicated to a new Civic Space next to the Walton Arts Center.
Also, phase one will also see the development of a new parking deck on the northwest corner of West Avenue and Dickson Street. The parking deck will hold 299 parking spaces and a police substation, and the garage will be 5 stories high.
The parking deck will be one of the first additions to Dickson Street, along with the Fay Jones Woods construction. However, the construction of a parking deck in that location brings up some issues. The Arsaga’s and train depot are in the proposed area for construction. These are two historical places to the City of Fayetteville.
Greg House, a local real estate investor and developer, is in on the cultural arts corridor project. He said, “In my almost 40 years of development in Fayetteville, I have renovated over 30 structures downtown without tearing a single building down.”
He also believes that a parking deck would serve as a catalyst for the larger project. House said, “The commitment to a deck would help jump start this process.”
The parking deck will be across the street from the new West Avenue Civic Space, which is the biggest part of the project. The space will have a central lawn where the community can gather for different events. It also will have an art garden and trails. The two buildings on the north and south side of the Civic Space will be developed through public-private partnerships.
Construction is now underway on the Fay Jones Woods, and construction on the whole project is set to be done around September 2023.
Click this link to see the entire Cultural Arts Corridor project.