Plantation development sign of changes in rural county life
It's an equation for explosive residential growth in southern Faulkner County.
Take 1,000 acres of rolling pasture land, add a river view that stirs the heart, plus an 18-hole golf course and clubhouse, and tag on a deal for city utilities including water and sewer and you have a formula two real estate developers hope will make The Plantation subdivision a jewel in Faulkner County's crown.
Located south of Mayflower between the city and Palarm Creek, the development has been past the drawing board stage since the summer.
Phase 1 includes 50 lots, 19 with river frontage. The development's roads are already built and a two-lane overpass built over the Union Pacific rail line is also finished. Future plans call for more than 400 homes to be built in the development.
Byron McKinney of Central Farms Limited Liability shows off an area under development in the Plantation near Mayflower. (Mike Kemp Photo)
The Plantation is more than a simple subdivision. If plans go forward it will almost be a community unto itself, with small commercial properties and multi-family residences. Its location, between Conway and Little Rock with easy highway access, is prime for commuters.
Running down the center of the development is an 18-hole golf course operated by The Plantation Golf Club. The clubhouse is already built and is expected to house a private country club.
Brooks McRay and Byron McKimmey of Real Estate Central in North Little Rock are the men behind the new development.
Plans are for The Plantation to receive city services, water and sewer in particular, but how and when those services are delivered were the cause of controversy in 1998.
Some in city government and a few Mayflower activists claimed The Plantation subdivision did not follow the rules by submitting its plats to the planning commission for approval. There was also a contention the developers were dealing behind closed doors with the mayor and at least two aldermen. Since then the subdivision has agreed to certain conditions set by the commission. The developers haven't dealt formally with Mayflower's new Mayor Frank Pearce or a city council including five new aldermen.
Key to the subdivision's survival is city services. The former city council did agree to allow the tie-on to its sewer and water system, but it made the agreement based on the annexation of the area. A fly in the annexation ointment is The Plantation does not abut the city limits, something that is required.
All those things aside, work goes on daily at The Plantation and it shows little sign of slowing down soon.
If the equation comes together it could be the catalyst that makes southern Faulkner County the place to be.