New stadium, more parking: Business booming in Fayetteville

Fayetteville leaders have agreed to pay an extra $1.5 million for a parking deck that's under construction. But the city says this will do more than ease a parking crunch.

The new parking deck, near the baseball stadium, will also serve as the physical foundation for a 12-story building that will include office space and a hotel.

Mayor Mitch Colvin says that developers recently threw city leaders a curve ball, requesting an additional $1.5 million to finish the project.

Parking fees near new Fayetteville stadium drive complaints from some residents

"As far as I was concerned, I've said from the beginning that I thought we had a valid contract with the parking deck," Colvin said. "We understand cost overrun, but at the end of the day, we had a valid contract with a performance bond."

The developers say the original $14.5 million proposal was submitted to the city before engineers had a chance to complete the site survey.

Colvin says Monday night’s unanimous vote was a no-brainer.

"The creation of 1,000 jobs, 1,100 jobs during the construction phase and a $100 million economic impact. That being said, this was worth the investment for the city of Fayetteville to make because we'll get it back," he said.

Is free parking a thing of the past in downtown Fayetteville?

Sega Stadium is up and running, the Woodpeckers minor league baseball team is playing games that are bringing new faces into the city and the Prince Charles Hotel has residents that now call it home. All of it is generating money, and all of it is changing the face of downtown in a positive way, Colvin said.

"We're watching businesses grow and thrive, and we're watching the Woodpeckers blow through the roof. So, we know that it takes sometimes a little investment," he said. "The city of Fayetteville is willing to take that risk."

The tax value on the projects owned by the developers is going to worth about $38 million. But if they're not, the developers have guaranteed they will pay $45 million in taxes.

City leaders said that was part of the reason why they didn't have a problem coughing up the extra money.