University Gobbles Up Properties
Last updated Thursday, September 28, 2006 10:17 PM CDT in News
By Christopher Spencer
The Morning News
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FAYETTEVILLE -- Moving from Razorback Plaza is fine, said townhouse resident Santhosh Anand, as long as the roaches living there vacate as well.
Razorback Plaza, 55 Razorback Road, is one of five properties the University of Arkansas is buying, following approval Thursday by the University of Arkansas System trustees in Little Rock.
Three of those properties neighbor the university and two others will be added to the Arkansas Research and Technology Park in south Fayetteville, said Steve Voorhies, the university's manager of media relations.
The university is also buying the building housing the Razorback Foundation and the university's ticket office, said Voorhies. The foundation and ticket will relocate within nine months after the deal goes through, he said.
Foundation President Chuck Dicus said the foundation and ticket office are expected to move in mid-December to 1295 S. Razorback Road immediately adjacent to Baum Stadium.
As of January, the university had purchased 95 properties since fiscal 1998 at an estimated $12.4 million. Last fall, 2.88 vacant and wooded acres were bought immediately north of Leverett School on Garland Avenue for $1.075 million.
The university continues to purchase many properties within what it calls its "growth area" in order to maintain control of the land and prepare for future expansion. The university plans to spruce up Razorback Road, and the state is planning to widen the street.
The university's contract to buy Razorback Properties gives the university the power to demolish it. At this point there are no plans to destroy the 20 residences there, Voorhies said.
From his apartment, Anand said demolishing the aged townhouses would be a good idea. Troubled parking during football games, and a continued problem with pests makes the complex ripe for demolition, he said.
"There shouldn't be apartments here," he said.
Bonds Bring Money
System trustees also endorsed a $250 million higher education bond program on the Nov. 7 general election ballot.
More than 40 percent of funds earmarked for projects at the state's universities and two-year colleges under the program would go to University of Arkansas campuses.
"We desperately need this," UA System President Alan Sugg told the board of trustees during a meeting in Little Rock.
Under the proposal, $100 million would be used to pay off existing bonds and $150 million would be earmarked for Arkansas' 10 public universities and 22 two-year colleges for capital improvements and technology upgrades.
About $63 million would go to the University of Arkansas System and be split among campuses in Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Little Rock, Monticello, Pine Bluff and the medical school under the plan.
The University of Central Arkansas would receive $13 million, Arkansas State University $9 million, Arkansas Tech University $7.5 million, Henderson State University $4 million and Southern Arkansas University $3.5 million.
The distribution of money was decided based on student enrollment, space needs and the condition of facilities at the various campuses.
About $9.3 million also would be allocated for the e-Corridor connection, a high capacity fiber optic research network for 10 universities and the medical sciences campus. The remainder of the money would be allocated among the state's two-year colleges.
Sugg told the trustees Thursday the bond issue would not only allow for new construction, but also would allow state schools to better compete with higher education institutions in neighboring states.
With a chart, he showed the state has appropriated about $142.5 million for new construction and renovation of academic buildings at the state's colleges and universities over the past 10 years while Mississippi has appropriated $650.3 million, Oklahoma $718 million and Tennessee more than $1 billion over the same period.
"The UA system alone has $1.3 billion in academic facilities," Sugg said. "I know I'm bias, but I think that higher education is one of the bright spots in our state."
Sugg also presented evidence personal income is directly related to an individual's education level. The median annual income for a person with a bachelor's degree was about $50,000 in 2004, compared to about $31,000 for someone with just a high school diploma, he said.
Arkansas ranks 49th among the states in both the percentage of residents with a bachelor's degree and average income, he said.
The Morning News' Rob Moritz contributed to this report.
INFOBOX
The University of Arkansas will soon buy five properties in Fayetteville after receiving approval Thursday from the University of Arkansas System trustees in Little Rock.
Those properties are:
55 N. Razorback Road (Razorback Plaza) for $1.25 million
605 W. Douglas St. for $170,000
91 N. Razorback Road (The Razorback Foundation and UA ticket office) for $1.26 million
2012 S. Cline Ave. for $175,000
3.01 acres neighboring 2012 Cline Ave. for $195,000
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