ROGERS : Zoning changes sought for Pleasant Crossing
Posted on Monday, January 14, 2008
ROGERS — Thousands of people drive through Pleasant Crossing’s main entrance each day.
Few make it beyond the development’s six lanes that guide traffic to Wal-Mart or to fast-food restaurants.
South of Wal-Mart, the road narrows to four lanes and curves to the east and then south, leading to an open field covered in dormant grass.
Since it was announced in early 2002, plans for Pleasant Crossing have called for retail stores and office buildings to line Pleasant Crossing Boulevard just east of Interstate 540 in south Rogers.
Cows graze in a nearby pasture, and workers have laid a foundation for a bowling alley. Pleasant Crossing also has a sporting-goods store, a bank, a car wash and a home-furnishings store.
Developer Charles Reaves and his latest partner in the venture are expected to ask the Rogers Planning Commission on Tuesday to allow for major changes by rezoning parts of the 350-acre development.
Candy Anderson, Rogers ’ planning director, said the type of zoning the developers will request is for a mixed use of residential and condominium spaces for the office park as well as a boardwalk entertainment section.
The boardwalk would surround an 8-acre pond with a fountain that would be choreographed to music.
Josh Copher, owner and chief executive officer of Provision Enterprises Inc., said those areas could be used as businesses or living spaces. Zoning for the rest of the development will stay the same, he said.
Large-scale plans will be submitted after zoning for the development is approved, Copher said.
A Provision Enterprises spokesman announced the restructuring plan at a Dec. 18 Planning Commission meeting. Reaves has had at least three partners involving Pleasant Crossing.
The revamped development would include an IMAX theater, an outlet mall, at least three hotels and an indoor sports center capable of hosting youth tournaments. One hotel would feature an indoor water park, and another would have convention space.
At different times, Pleasant Crossing’s planners have announced a Home Depot, a Malco theater, a Saks Parisian department store and a sports arena. None came to fruition.
Reaves said he doesn’t concentrate on the progress of other developments, such as the nearby Pinnacle Hills Promenade outdoor mall, or how long he’s been working to get Pleasant Crossing beyond the planning stage.
Pinnacle Hills Promenade was announced in 2003 and opened in October 2006.
Reaves said it’s natural for large-scale projects to evolve. An example is the southwest corner of Arkansas 264 and I-540.
It once was the planned site for a water park, then a Saturn dealership. The 34-acre plot recently was divided into 13 smaller lots to sell individually for commercial use, said Mike Solomon, Lowell’s director of planning. Office spaces were planned for the land north of the site, where landscaping company Stone Gardens has opened.
“When you start to build something, the economic needs change, and you need to change with it,” he said. Solomon said Pleasant Crossing is developing at a pace that seems slow in booming Northwest Arkansas but is typical of other places.
“Whenever you look at bringing large retailers in and are looking to do a big retail market, it’s something that’s going to take some time,” he said. “I think [Reaves ] is trying to find a good fit. That I-540 corridor is competitive. The developers up there are making sure they’ve got the right things coming in.” Reaves isn’t saying yet which tenants he has in mind for Pleasant Crossing. But he thinks people will like what they see. “I believe we’ve done a pretty good job of adjusting original plans to something people think they’ll be interested in,” he said. “People who have looked at the boardwalk say they like that. They think it’s a place they’d like to go.”
To contact this reporter: aotoole@arkansasonline. com
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