Editor’s note: This story will be updated later tonight (April 1) following a Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting.
A proposed $20 million development of the Fianna Hills Country Club is no more after developer Lance Beaty of Fort Smith-based FSM Redevelopment Partners pulled the project from consideration at Tuesday's (April 1) regular meeting of the Fort Smith Board of Directors.
“I believe we had the vote (to approve a zoning request needed for the project to proceed). But it’s not just about the vote. It’s a business decision. It’s mathematics. ... In a deal like this let’s say that 100 things have to happen in an ordered manner for this to transpire. We got to say, number 60 and determined that it was not a deal for us. It’s that simple. We’ve conducted due diligence on this for months, and our risk-weighted analysis is that it is not a deal for us,” Beaty explained.
Beaty declined to comment about efforts in recent days to scuttle the project, saying instead that, “I may have some additional comments at the appropriate time, but before the vote, I think it unwise.”
Fort Smith City Administrator Ray Gosack said the Board could still take action on the issue. He said the Board could table it, vote on it as is, or amend it. Gosack said Fianna Hills Country Club Manager Jim Shields has asked that the zoning issue be tabled until the May 6 meeting. According to Gosack, Shields said that would give club owners time to determine if there is other interest in the property and to see if the zoning change would help with that interest.
Plans to redevelop the country club first came to light in November 2013 when Beaty confirmed that he and business partner Dr. Stephen Nelson were working with club owners David Mille and Jim Shields to purchase not only the club, but also the 18-hole golf course.
It was the second major planned investment for Beaty's company, which purchased the 35-acre site of the former Phoenix Village Mall when it was nothing more than a poorly-maintained site that included about 10 acres of structures. Since Beaty's purchase of the old mall site in January 2009, FSM Redevelopment Partners invested more than $10.5 million worth of improvements at the site, including a successful expo center that was open for about three years before closing to make room for a regional service center operated by Health Management Associates. In all, the former mall now houses more than 1,100 jobs.
CLUB CHANGES
The proposal from Beaty for the country club included the addition of guest suites for use by members and their guests, as well as the addition of a medical concierge service and other upgraded amenities. The country club would have also been gutted and rebuilt on its original footprint, expanding from a current square footage of 27,000 square feet to 85,000 square feet.
As part of the revamp of the club, FSM Redevelopment had developed a business plan that would have members joining the facility for a $30,000 fee that could be paid out over time, similar to the membership fee members of the club have already been paying. In order to make the club a reality, Beaty had said he would need about 500 commitments with individuals making refundable deposits of $1,000.
While there was some vocal opposition to Beaty's plan for Fianna Hills Country Club, things appeared to be moving in the right direction on March 11. It was on that evening that the Fort Smith Planning Commission approved a planned zoning district at the site of the country club by a vote of 9-0.
As the project moved closer to Tuesday's vote, more opposition started making their voices heard and left the project in limbo.
In statements to The City Wire published March 17, there was not a consensus among the Fort Smith Board of Directors on whether or not the PZD would pass the final hurdle of Board approval. Fort Smith Vice Mayor Kevin Settle said while he supported some aspects of the club, including the renovation and addition of member suites, he had about other uses included in the PZD.
"The concerns that have been brought to my attention by many citizens in the Fianna Hills area are the other potential developments that are being asked in the PZD. These other potential developments are something that I am going to research and get a better understanding on how they could affect the existing homeowner property values."
Fianna Hills resident Lisa Clay was among those expressing concern about the proposed uses within the PZD. Clay eventually launched a petition which garnered more than 200 signatures asking the Board to pass an amended PZD that would have removed several land uses.
Pat Ross, president of the Fianna Hills Property Owners Association, said a conversation with Beaty occured in which Beaty allegedly said he would turn the site into an office complex. Beaty said March 27 that Ross' allegations were "simply not true or is completely out of context."
CLUB CLOSING?
Clay said at the time that she would like to have a company come in and keep the country club just that, adding that she was aware of companies interested in purchasing the facility. But when reached for comment, Mille said no other buyers had approached him about purchasing the country club, which he said is heavily subsidized by his other business ventures, which include Mid-South Steam Boiler and Engineering.
He also said that should the Board not approve the planned PZD for the land he currently owns, he would not waste any time shutting down the country club.
“It’s not an idle threat. I assure you. My problem is that I’ve been subsidizing the operating capital of that club for years, and it’s gotten to the point that it’s taking a toll on me financially. And if he (Beaty) doesn’t buy it, i’m going to close it immediately. ... when it starts to hurt your other businesses, I mean, I’m just not going to do it anymore.”
Continuing, Mille noted: “These people opposing this and spreading rumors and bad information to try to stop this, they don’t see what they are doing to Fort Smith. I have a lot of friends who are members there and I enjoy having a place for them to buy a drink or whatever, but I can’t keep subsidizing all that just because they are friends. ... Nobody is lining up to do this (buy the club), and so if this (Beaty plan) doesn’t work, you’ll see a lot of weeds and grass on the course, because I’m not doing it anymore.”