Fayetteville to buy flood-prone property

 The city is buying a $1.39 million West End condo on Interstate 49, east of Interstate 49 and west of Weddington Drive, to turn into green space for flood control. The August local council. When the land becomes available for the City of 16, Mayor Lionel Jordan approved the contract to be signed. The city will buy the property from John Cloyd and his limited partnership. At the time of the board meeting, the land was under contract to another potential buyer. The buyer asked for an extension, but Cloyd refused. Cloyd accepted the city's offer this week. The original price was $1.4 million. Now, after both sides sign off, the city will commission the land survey, said staff engineer Alan Pugh. He said he still has 90 days for due diligence before the contract expires. The 49-unit, four-building complex experienced severe flooding in April 2017 and May of this year. Water rose several meters above the ground and entered the facility, causing significant damage to buildings, tenant property and vehicles. The complex has been empty since the May floods. The damage made the unit uninhabitable. The tenant, who paid rent in May, moved in with the help of the Red Cross.

Cloyd expressed support for the city's plans. The property is on a floodplain near Hamstring Creek and has had heavy rain in recent years, he said.

"I was convinced [the flood] wasn't a good place to build a house, but people were the least able to cope, especially in low-income housing," Cloyd said. There is a grant opportunity for the federal government to pay for the demolition of the structures and the restoration of green spaces, Pugh said. The city is awaiting an update on Washington County's hazard reduction plan approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If that happens, the city can apply for flood relief. The grant should cover 75 percent of the cost of demolition and restoration, and the city should pay the rest, he said. The estimated cost of the demolition is $125,000.

The city is waiting on grants, so it could take about a year for work to begin, Pugh said. The City Council can choose to pay for the work using the 2019 voter approval or using funds from the city's Capital Improvement Fund. Either way, the decision will come to Congress for the next vote, he said. As for turning the site into green space, Pugh said the city could lower the land a few feet and maintain a major river channel there. He said removing the concrete and replacing it with lush vegetation such as native trees, shrubs and grass will help restore the property to its natural setting and hopefully offset the flood's impact on nearby properties. "If the road goes over or the canal overflows, it's going to be a ditch," Pugh said. "It flooded houses across the West End."

The city is also seeking funding opportunities from the federal government to support the cost of raising or acquiring land on the Hamstring Creek floodplain.

 

Read more: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/sep/02/fayetteville-to-buy-flood-prone-property/?news-arkansas

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