Arts council sees first concepts for new hotel in downtown Fayetteville

A rendering by local architect Rob Sharp shows an early concept for a proposed hotel on the south side of the planned civic plaza site of the cultural arts corridor in downtown Fayetteville. (Courtesy/City of Fayetteville)

The city’s arts council will provide information on how art can be integrated into a new hotel development in downtown Fayetteville.

Council members this week saw the first concepts for a proposed seven-story hotel on the south side of the civic square of Ramble, which is part of the ongoing city cultural arts corridor project.

The plaza will eventually replace the 290-space parking lot in front of the Walton Arts Center once construction is complete on a nearby building. replacement parking deck.

The arts corridor is being financed with $30 million in voter-approved bonds, but some components of the project will require partnerships with private developers, said Peter Nierengarten, the city’s environmental director.

“The bond funding was only enough to build the exterior components of the project, so the buildings that were shown were always placeholders for association developments,” Nierengarten said.

The city began an RFP process in the fall, Nierengarten said, to find a development partner for a building envisioned on the south end of the civic plaza.

Shortly after that process, city officials began negotiations with Fayetteville developer Brian Reindl, owner of the Metro District building just south of the civic plaza where Cork & Keg, Rolando’s Restaurant and several other businesses are located.

A view of the proposed hotel from the northeast. (Courtesy/City of Fayetteville)

Fayetteville architect Rob Sharp is leading the hotel’s design, while South Carolina-based Windsor Aughry is the project’s hotel consultant. Sharp said that Windsor Aughry specializes in projects based on college towns in the southeastern part of the country. CR Crawford Construction of Fayetteville was selected as the general contractor.

Sharp said the plan is to work with the civic plaza landscape, which features natural lighting from a currently covered creek that will create a diagonal channel through the park space alongside a walkway connecting the north and south ends of the site.

“We wanted to establish a part of our building in direct response to that walkway,” Sharp told the council.

Approaching the hotel from the north, people will first see a restaurant with indoor seating and an outdoor cafe, along with a retail frontage and hotel lobby that will feature a walk-through element so people can see through the building.

The city’s trail system, which currently runs through the West Avenue parking lot, would be realigned through the civic plaza, but Sharp said a second route is being designed.

An aerial view of the proposed hotel site and civic plaza. (Courtesy/City of Fayetteville)

City-owned public restrooms would also be included on the west side of the building for those visiting the civic plaza space.

As for the design of the building, Sharp said the plan is to break up the project so it’s not just one big building with the same style on all sides.

The east side will resemble some of the historic elements of Dickson Street that once had a railroad and manufacturing culture. Sharp said some remnants of that architecture remain in the area, such as the Porter Produce building next to Grub’s, the Arsaga Freight Depot building and the industrial loft building on West Avenue.

“What we’re talking about is a very sincere effort to build a building with the same ethics that those original buildings were built on,” Sharp said.

The west side will have a more modern look that resembles the new TheaterSquared campus, the Walton Center for the Arts and the Fayetteville Public Library. That side of the hotel will feature charcoal brick, painted steel, aluminum windows and a rooftop bar with balconies and terraces facing the plaza.

Sharp showed several drawings of the project and said the goal is to be as detailed as possible to get approval from the City Council, which will ultimately decide the fate of the project.

Reindl properties only owns about a third of the land needed for the hotel. In order to build it as it is drawn, the City Council would have to agree to sell the other two-thirds of the property to Reindl.

Floor plan of the proposed hotel. (Courtesy/City of Fayetteville)

Sharp said detailed images are being provided so the City Council can feel comfortable knowing the project won’t later feel like bait and switch.

“With a public site like this, sometimes they show nice drawings and promises are made at first, but then when it’s built, it doesn’t look much like what was presented,” Sharp said. “We want to make sure that what is being delivered is what was promised.”

Councilwoman Sonia Harvey, who is also on the arts council, asked if the civic square’s planned performance stage would still be included on the south end of the site if a hotel is built. Nierengarten said the stage, which could include some of the Walton Arts Center’s programming, is still in the works next to a grassy knoll where audience members could enjoy a small performance. Any speakers needed will be pointed away from the hotel building, she said.

Arts council member Bob Stafford asked if the multi-story building at the north end of the plaza is still under construction on property owned by locals Ted Belden and Greg House. Early concepts for that site showed a four-story multi-use building with some kind of food hall on the ground floor. Private developers have also said they can build a hotel across from the civic plaza at the northwest corner of Dickson Street and West Avenue.

Sharp said the hope is that the arts council can provide guidance on how art can be incorporated into the project.

“My client is not an artist, and I am not an artist, so we are trying to reach out to people who are experts to help determine opportunities for art,” Sharp said.

Developers, he said, would consider unique places for art, such as an area above the hotel’s rooftop bar where local artists could design different works of art that resemble fish in an open aquarium.

“Everyone always defaults to murals, which are great, but there are probably a lot of other things that could be done,” he said.

An aerial view of the plans for the proposed hotel and civic space. The dashed red line marks the public property that private developers would need to purchase from the city to build the proposed hotel. (Courtesy/City of Fayetteville)

Harvey said she’s already a fan of the idea.

“This looks wonderful,” said Harvey. “I really like that the materials are. It’s a good marriage between the contemporary and the historical.”

Havey said the project reminds him of a popular hotel and diner on the plaza in downtown Bentonville.

“It has a 21c vibe, but a local one,” Harvey told Sharp. “Is that how you would describe it?”

Sharp said that while art will play a role in the design of the space, he wouldn’t go so far as to compare the project to a 21c Museum Hotel.

“21c is like a shot to the moon for art,” Sharp said. “I don’t think we’re there.”

Jessica DeBari, who serves as president of the arts council, suggested looking to Gladstone House in Toronto for inspiration. The hotel focuses on permanent and rotating installations by local and regional artists rather than showcasing nationally and internationally renowned art.

“People go there specifically because they know they’re going to have a different experience every time,” DeBari said.

Harvey said that perhaps a small group of artists trusted by the community could serve as a kind of advisory committee to provide input to developers during the rest of the design process.

DeBari, that’s a great idea.

“I like the idea of having an ongoing subcommittee that works to make sure there is good representation from a diverse group of artists,” DeBari said.