UA Board of Trustees Approves Green Space Design

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — At its scheduled Sept. 9 meeting on the University of Arkansas campus, the UA Board of Trustees approved designs for a new green space park to be constructed on the south side of the UA campus. The park, named The Gardens, will be located on a 6.45-acre piece of property where five apartment buildings in the Carlson Terrace complex once stood.

During its June 3 meeting at the University of Arkansas-Monticello, the board authorized the university to expand the existing green space associated with improvements to the College Creek Branch by razing the five Carlson Terrace apartment buildings located west of the creek.

Board members also gave the university the authority to remove the entire complex when it deemed necessary.

Vice Chancellor for Finance Don Pederson told the board Friday that most of the funding for the park will be generated through private donations. Vice Chancellor for Advancement G. David Gearhart expressed "deepest appreciation" to Jim Lindsey, University of Arkansas trustee, for his contribution of site work and other services to begin the project.

The park will be located on the west side of the College Creek Branch. The university will continue working in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Audubon Society on a $150,000 grant for restoration of the creek.

Designs submitted to the board call for a natural, grass-covered area that includes shrubbery, picnic gazebos and trees native to Arkansas.

Next year, the park will be opened to vehicles for tailgating prior to Arkansas Razorback home football games. It will be available to students and the public all year as a pedestrian park. The date of the park’s opening will be determined by the condition of the landscaping, which must be allowed to mature enough to survive foot traffic.

"Razorback fans will certainly enjoy The Gardens during home football game weekends, but we want students and members of the community to know they have something they can always enjoy," Pederson said during his presentation to the board.

To accommodate high foot traffic as well as parked vehicles on the site during game weekends, Grasspave parking surfaces will be used. Grasspave is a porous paving system that protects the root systems of existing grass from vehicle damage. The design calls for an unspecified number of 12-foot-wide tailgating parking spaces on the site.

Pederson also presented schematics for the main pavilion of The Garden, tentatively called the Holding Pen. The design calls for an 80-foot by 50-foot brick-enclosed space with a bronze metal roof to match Bud Walton Arena, a clock and Razorback weathervane.