(Editor’s note: A correction has been made to this article. See the end of this article for details.)
Two public-private partnerships approved Friday by the Arkansas State University board of trustees will allow development of an upscale hotel and convention center and expand student housing.
The convention center and hotel will support a hospitality management program at ASU campus in Jonesboro.
ASU System President Chuck Welch said both projects involve ground leases on university property, facilities that will be built and maintained at no cost to the campus, new sources of revenue and enhanced services for students.
“These are transformative capital projects that will enhance Arkansas State in many ways without the burden of debt,” Welch said in a news release.
A 50-year lease with Jonesboro Hotel Partners LLC, led by Tim O’Reilly of Springfield, Missouri, will allow for the development of a 205-bed Embassy Suites hotel, a 40,000-SF convention center and a Houlihan’s restaurant on Red Wolf Boulevard. The developer will pay all costs associated with construction, operation and maintenance of the property.
“We’ve discussed this for quite some time because the size and scope required considerable consideration,” Welch said. “We believe this could be transformative for our campus in a number of ways – including a hospitality management program, student recruitment, and visibility – that set us apart from our peers.”
Trustee Niel Crowson of Jonesboro voted against the convention center deal.
“I do appreciate the pro-active mindset of our team,” Crowson said. “However, I am not convinced this is the correct step in our development as a university.”
Crowson added that he would nonetheless work with his colleagues “to ensure this, and every other initiative we undertake, will be successful.”
Trustees also voted to enter into a 35-year land lease with Zimmer Development Co. of Wilmington, North Carolina, for its first public-private partnership to construct on-campus housing.
A 350-bed undergraduate facility on the east side of campus and a 165-bed complex primarily for graduate students on the west side will begin construction in May and set to be done for the fall 2017 semester.
“Living on campus has many academic and social benefits,” Hudson said. “These projects allow us to accommodate students who want to reside on campus throughout their career.”
Zimmer will construct and maintain the units while ASU will manage and market the two complexes. During the initial years, Zimmer will pay $200,000 per year for the undergraduate land lease and $105,000 for the graduate area. The structures will become university property at the close of the lease.
(Correction: The previous version of this article said Crowson voted against the on-campus housing project. He did not. He voted against the convention center proposal. The article has been corrected.)
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