Fayetteville Taking Bids For 2 City-Owned Acres

The city of Fayetteville is accepting bids for about 2 acres of property it owns on the east side of town.

A pair of convenience store companies appear to be the most likely to bid on the land where an abandoned Tyson plant currently sits on 10 acres at the corner of Happy Hollow and Huntsville roads. Kum & Go originally approached the city about the purchase, but Casey’s General Stores has also shown an interest in the location.

Both companies have bid in the neighborhood of $1 million, plus a percentage of demolition costs (up to 25 percent or $100,000), to acquire the property. They have until Jan. 28 to submit their final, sealed bids. Other interested purchasers have the right to bid on the property, but City Attorney Kit Williams said Kum & Go and Casey’s General Stores were the only parties to express an interest so far.

Fayetteville purchased the property in 2005 for $1.1 million. The cost to tear down the plant is estimated at about $500,000, and Williams told Arkansas Business the city had chosen not to demolish the property so “taxpayer money could be spent elsewhere.”

Williams said the city would like to build an additional road through the property and would look at sharing the cost with the purchaser of the land. Additional development could take place there, and Williams said the city had explored using a portion of the acreage to house the city’s Parks & Recreation Department.

Bids will be open and voted on at the Feb. 5 meeting of the City Council.