Big-box retailer seeks land on I-540 at Elm Springs: Elm Springs mystery causes stink.

THE WASHINGTON COUNTY town of Elm Springs, population 1,044, is about to spend $1.6 million to run a two-mile sewer line to 18 acres of prime real estate near Interstate 540.

Developers want to build a "big-box retailer" near the intersection of Elm Springs Road and I-540, but the deal hinges on sewer and fire service.

Nobody will say who the retailer is. And the potential deal is causing a stink between Elm Springs and Springdale, its much larger neighbor to the east.

"It's war between Elm Springs and Springdale," said Craig Hull, a consultant to Elm Springs. "Sometimes it seems that way."

"Springdale is not looking to gobble up Elm Springs," Springdale Mayor Jerre Van Hoose said. "We're not making any move at all in this deal. We're not initiating anything."

When Gary Combs announced to the press last year that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. planned to build a Supercenter on his property in Lowell, the world's largest company quickly jerked the contract, and the property is still undeveloped. Nobody wants to see that happen in Elm Springs, five miles and one exit off Interstate 540 to the south of Lowell.

The Elm, Springs Road intersection appears to be an ideal location for a Sam's Club. A Wal-Mart Supercenter is already planned for Pleasant Grove Road, two intersections to the north in Rogers.

A Sam's Club at I-540 and Elm Springs Road would be much more convenient to Benton County residents, who now have to drive to congested Thompson Avenue in Springdale to shop at a 20-year-old Sam's Club.

The store would be located just a mile south of Washington County's border with "dry" Benton County. It's legal to sell beer and wine in grocery stores in Washington County (except in Fayetteville), so a Supercenter or Sam's Club at Elm Springs Road would be able to sell those items if there's not a huge public outcry against the idea.

Eight of Arkansas' 89 Wal-Mart stores sell beer and wine, said Tom Williams, a spokesman for Wal-Mart. None of the state's Wal-Mart stores sells hard liquor.

Anders Proposal

Susan Anders has proposed a development near I-540 and Elm Springs Road that would include a "big-box retailer," a 100,000-SF office building and a 100,000-SF shopping center, according to a letter on file with the city of Elm springs.

The property would be developed by the Anders Family Limited Partnership/ Arkansas Book Store Inc. of Fayetteville Sterling Anders, Susan's father-in-law, is the founder of BudgeText Corp. of Fayetteville, a company that distributes school textbooks. Susan Anders is an architect who is serving as a consultant to the Anders Family LP.

Susan Anders won't say who the potential retailer is, and Williams said he didn't know anything about a Wal-Mart or Sam's Club store being planned for that location.

"I'm not in a position to comment on anything," Susan Anders said. "The property owner I'm representing is not interested in making any comment right now."

"They don't have a deal," said Hull, a city planner who owns Hull & Co. of Bentonville, a commercial real estate company. "They're doing their due diligence."

The Anders family owns 31 acres of property on the southwest corner of the intersection. That property is currently up for sale through Lindsey & Associates of Rogers.

The Anders family has a contract to buy 18 adjoining acres to the west. That land is owned by the Netherton family (James, Vada, Frances, Nelda and Darrell) of Elm Springs. The families have been working on the sale for more than a year.

But before they buy the land, the Anders family wants to make sure there's adequate sewer and fire service to support such a development.

They have sewer service to the 31 acres they already own, which are officially in the city of Springdale. The other 18 acres, which are in Elm Springs, currently have no sewer service. Elm Springs doesn't have a sanitary sewer system. City residents have septic tanks instead.

Also, Springdale provides hook-and-ladder fire truck service to the area, which might be necessary if a large retail store or tall building caught fire. Elm Springs has fire service that's provided through Tontitown, but no hook-and-ladder trucks, which can cost as much as $250,000 each.

"Show me a building first," Hull said. "No other city is required to provide fire protection before there's a building."

On June 11, Chris Parton, project engineer for Garver Engineers of Fayetteville, responded to a request from Susan Anders.

In his letter, Parton said a development that includes a big-box retailer, 100,000-SF office building and 100,000-SF shopping center would need a water main capable of a minimum flow of 100 gallons per minute. The proposed development would also need a sewer main capable of a minimum flow of 75,000 gallons per day.

The Netherton family sent a letter on June 23 asking the city of Elm Springs to make the improvements within six months.

Annexation Anxiety

On Aug. 1, Sterling Anders sent a letter to Elm Springs Mayor Jane Waters saying he was "initiating de-annexation" of the 18-acre tract from Elm Springs so it could be annexed by Springdale. Such a de-annexation is allowed through Arkansas Act 779 if the city can't provide adequate services to the landowner.

But that's the last thing the people of Elm Springs want. They de-annexed 120 acres of Elm Springs on Har-Ber Road earlier this year because residents there said Elm Springs couldn't repair the road. That residential acreage was subsequently annexed by Springdale.

This time, only 18 acres are in question. But it could be the site of a large retail development, and Elm Springs residents will probably vote on a 1-cent sales tax this fall. The development could bring in substantial revenue for Elm Springs, which currently has no sales tax of its own for city improvements.

The Elm Springs City Council met on Aug. 18 and decided it can provide the requested services to the proposed development by spring, Waters said.

Elm Springs has been working for two years to install a sewer developed by Orenco Systems Inc. of Sutherlin, Ore. Waters said Lowell and Bethel Heights have similar "step" sewer systems. She said casinos in some parts of the country are on Orenco systems, so they can serve large commercial developments.

Elm Springs officials already planned to run a two-mile pipe to the 18 acres on Elm Springs Road, but the pipe will need to be about twice as big to accommodate the proposed development.

"There's no problem with us serving it," Jim Crownover, a member of the Elm Springs Water and Sewer Committee, said of the development. "We've got the ability, and we'll have the capacity. It may take a little redesign on our system, but we'll be there [by spring]."

"How you upsize it suddenly to be the size of your sewer system times two is something else," Hull said.

Waters said fire service is provided to Elm Springs through Tontitown, and she wasn't sure if a hook-and-ladder truck was necessary for the development going in at Elm Springs Road.

"I don't know how necessary that is because we don't know what they're building out there," she said.

As for the de-annexation, Springdale Mayor Van Hoose said, "Act 779 is a law that is totally landowner driven and initiated. We don't go out looking for land to annex."

Van Hoose said it would cost the city of Springdale nothing to provide sewer service to the 18 acres currently owned by the Netherton family.

"They can connect to the sewer system that is basically already there," he said.

"We also understand that property close to the Interstate 540 intersection is prime-development property, and in order for it to be developed, a sanitary sewer system is a necessity."

In the meantime, plans are in the works to extend Seaton Street, an extension of 48th Street in Springdale, to Elm Springs. The street will then separate the 31-acre Anders tract from the 18-acre Netherton property. In addition to the Anders/Netherton property, a 70-acre tract of land on the northwest corner of Elm Springs Road is also for sale. It is owned by Margie L Hall and is officially in the city of Springdale. Hall wants to sell all 70 acres together. Most big-box retail stores need only about 20 acres for the building, parking lot and elbow room. But the extra land could be sold to other retailers.