{"id":5354,"date":"2016-03-25T07:42:58","date_gmt":"2016-03-25T12:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/?p=5354"},"modified":"2016-11-04T09:29:24","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T14:29:24","slug":"tear-down-mountain-inn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2016\/03\/tear-down-mountain-inn\/","title":{"rendered":"Tear Down This Wall, That Wall, The Other Ones"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mr. Developer,
\nTear Down This Wall<\/a>.
\nPull over the other walls. Haul off the rubble and rebar.
\nThank you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking northwest at the side of what’s left of the Mountain Inn, downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas, March 21, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s a straightforward request but due a complicated, expensive and apparently years in length answer. Thursday (March 24), I made the request to the city of Fayetteville, Arkansas, that something be done about remains of the Mountain Inn, left vacant for ages then partly razed a few years ago. Some three stories of wreckage remain at the entrance to our restored and popular\u00a0downtown.<\/p>\n

[See the end of this column for updates.]<\/em><\/p>\n

An entity named NWAP LLC of Mountain Home in 2014 bought the property, on the southwest corner of College Avenue at Center Street about a block east of the historic Square. (Mountain Home by the way is not a suburb but 122 miles east.)<\/p>\n

Before, the Mountain Inn extended a block south of Center to Mountain Street. That half block of 1960s-ish building, an eyesore for years, finally was torn down, left as a hole for some time but now is a parking lot. A strip of land about 20 yards wide along College (U.S. 71) next to the ugly part has been landscaped with grass and a few shrubs. The front though is nice.<\/p>\n

A summary can be found at the Fayetteville Flyer’s<\/em> May 2014 “Mountain Inn Property under Contract in Downtown Fayetteville<\/a>” and from July 2014 “Ex-Developer Richard Alexander Still Keen on Mountain Inn Site<\/a>” in the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal<\/em>. The latter is about the immediate previous owners, partners planning a new hotel who bought the site in September 2007 — yes, right before the Great Recession, which explains what happened then.<\/p>\n

All that makes sense, and our right course should be empathy and patience. Within reason. This past Feb. 1, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette<\/em>\u00a0began, “Publicly announced plans to remake the derelict Mountain Inn building downtown haven’t yet happened, and a representative of the property’s owners said it could be still longer before the owner makes any substantial changes.” That article<\/a> is behind a fee wall.<\/p>\n

The newspaper included a timeline:
\n“\u2022 1923: The Oriental Hotel was bought and turned into the Mountain Inn. It eventually expanded to about 100 rooms in the 1960s.
\n“\u2022 1998: The Mountain Inn closed and has remained vacant and in disrepair since.
\n“\u2022 2005: Developers demolish a portion of the building, which is eventually replaced with a public parking lot that still covers much of of the property.
\n“\u2022 2014: NWAP LLC buys the property for $1.1 million from the Bank of Fayetteville.”<\/p>\n

One assumption is that the City takes care of dilapidated property sooner or later, notifying the owner, pushing the owner and, finally, after bureaucratic maneuvers takes action: tows the abandoned vehicle, scythes the tall\u00a0weeds or pulls down the gray-painted-brick hulk, billing the owner or perhaps absorbing\u00a0the cost, we\u00a0taxpayers’ price for\u00a0living in society.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking north at the rear of what’s left of the Mountain Inn, downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas, March 21, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The NWAP LLC site is not dangerous. Nothing seems likely to fall, and there’s no nails or broken glass. Just embarrassing. I posed a question on the matter on Facebook days ago and got quick answers from people who know what’s what: the city needs a complaint filed first. Because I smelt it this time, I’ll be the one that dealt it.<\/p>\n

At least be first: For something this big, others now should complain, for best results. Here are the steps.<\/p>\n

At the municipal website homepage is a link to\u00a0the City Service\/Complaint Form<\/a><\/span>. Click “Begin Request,” which leads to “Type of Service or Problem,” with a\u00a0drop-down menu of common topics, “Select the Service Requested or Problem Reported.” The closest\u00a0perhaps\u00a0is “Substandard Unoccupied Structure Report.” If another label looks better when you file an online complaint, use it.<\/p>\n

For “Description of Request of Problem,” I wrote:<\/p>\n

“It’s been years, and what’s left of the Mountain Inn continues to be an eyesore to residents and visitors to our otherwise beautiful downtown. The remaining structure is three stories tall, with boarded up windows and doors or on upper floors holes or exposed insulation where windows were. Brick and block are cracked or crumbling.”<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The (perhaps salvageable) front of what’s left of the Mountain Inn, downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas, March 21, 2016. This is Center Street just west of College Avenue.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the actual street address, I typed in Center St. and “front” because the accurate address number may not be that of the still nice-looking front. So I filled in the “Locator Information” field with “Southwest Corner of College Avenue at Center Street, remaining part of the Mountain Inn.”<\/p>\n

You then hit “Next,” which wants your name, address,\u00a0phone and email. Then, “Finish.” The last window provides your service request number. Mine is 159027<\/b>.<\/p>\n

I’ve received an email confirmation. Time to wait.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n

Update, March 25, evening<\/strong>: Friend Dave Edmark alerted me to this tweet:<\/p>\n

\n

Workers are sealing the former Mountain Inn in #Fayetteville<\/a> for safety per a January @accessfay<\/a> request @NWADanH<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/MP44rY9M7o<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NWADemGaz Photos (@NWADemGazPhotos) March 25, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n