Title: How the ‘Save Markham Hill’ effort began

In 2005 when the 72-acre PZD on the east half of Markham Hill was approved by the City for Julian Archer to build the seven-room Pratt Place Inn and the Event Barn, the agreement was that no other development would be allowed in these 72 acres. This was to create an urban forest buffer between the Archer’s commercial enterprise and the adjacent low-density University Heights residential neighborhood. The City agreed that the neighbors' concerns were valid about increased traffic, noise from the Event Barn functions, and incompatibility (commercial enterprise in a residential neighborhood). The residents feared that this relatively small commercial enterprise would grow into something that would forever hurt their historic neighborhood and forested areas. Therefore, the restriction was created. No development in the 72-acre PZD (other than the Pratt Place Inn and Event Barn) would be allowed and these 72 acres would remain protected as urban forest and natural land. The 72 acres on the west half of Markham Hill, though zoned RSF-4, were undeveloped urban forest as well. Together, these 144 acres of Markham Hill property were a beloved example of Fayetteville urban forest, history, Native American land, and character.

In early 2016, local developer Specialized Real Estate Group (SREG) bought the 144-acre Markham Hill property during Julian Archer’s bankruptcy trial. SREG used out-of-state money from RMD Properties (Robert M Dant) to do so. SREG’s Seth Mims did not follow through on the promises he made in federal court during the trial on behalf of SREG and RMD Properties: to help Julian Archer get a loan to buy back the 72-acre PZD on the east half of the property, to let Julian and his wife Jane remain in their log house on 4 acres of the property, nor to keep the current zoning on the 72-acre RSF-4 on the west half of the property. The judge made his decision to let SREG and RMD Properties purchase the land based on these promises. However, SREG and RMD Properties stopped all communication with Julian Archer after the trial. None of their promises were kept.

During the summer of 2018, the University Heights neighborhood (Wedington to Nettleship, Sang to Razorback, with a panhandle of Sunset and Hall) was invited by SREG to meet with them in small groups to discuss their development and preservation plans for Markham Hill.  SREG wanted the support of the neighborhood. Seth Mims explained that their development and preservation would be like Serenbe, located outside of Atlanta, Georgia.  I researched Serenbe and discovered its goals were to preserve 70% of its 1000 acres of urban forest and natural land, build 350 living units in clusters, and house 600 people.  So, for the 144-acre Markham Hill property, this would mean that SREG was planning to preserve 100 acres of the urban forest and natural land, build 50 living units in clusters, and house 86 people. 

Seth Mims also asked the University Heights residents what they thought of a restaurant inside Pratt Place Inn and of a building between the Pratt Place Inn and the water tower that would contain up to 14 rooms so that entire wedding parties could stay there.  Under the circumstances that a developer now owned the 144-acre property, the neighborhood residents reluctantly agreed that they could accept this as long as an urban forest buffer remained between the SREG development and their low-density residential neighborhood, and the additional traffic would be kept to a minimum.

In August 2018, the University Heights neighborhood and others in Fayetteville who love Markham Hill were shocked when they discovered SREG’s true plans. Along with their rezoning requests, SREG requested: up to 520 living units (single, duplex, triplex, quadraplex) rather than 50 living units, an 80-room hotel rather than a 14-room building, a separate restaurant rather than one inside the Pratt Place Inn, and other commercial buildings. All this, along with streets, parking lots, and utilities, would require major deforesting of the Markham Hill plateau and parts of the hillsides.  An added slap in the face was SREG's disregard for the 2005 agreement between the City and the neighborhood.

Feeling deceived and lied to by SREG, a number of people in the University Heights neighborhood and elsewhere in Fayetteville created Friends of Markham Hill. It was time to save this historic Markham Hill property from any development whatsoever, like the Pratt sisters, Joy Pratt Markham and Evangeline Pratt Waterman Archer, intended.

Friends of Markham Hill is a grassroots effort to save all 144 acres of Markham Hill from development and make it a nature, wildlife, historic, and Native American preserve, with natural trails.  They are asking SREG to please preserve the entire property or sell it at a reasonable price to a conservationist, conservation group, and/or the City who will preserve it all.

SREG continues to say, "No!"

Friends of Markham Hill have an active Facebook group and a ‘Save Markham Hill’ petition on change. org that now has over 11,800 signatures. They have been writing letters to the City and SREG, informing the public on why Markham Hill is worth saving, putting up 'Save Markham Hill' yard signs, etc.  A future weekly will summarize their efforts so far.

Friends of Markham Hill will not give up their fight to save Markham Hill, following the example of the Ozark Society activists, including Evangeline Archer, who helped save the Buffalo River from being dammed in the 1960s to become the U.S.'s first National River in 1972. They see Markham Hill as Fayetteville's Buffalo River.

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