Civic Plaza

The civic space is a key element of the City’s Cultural Arts Corridor, now known as The Ramble, which links some of Fayetteville’s cultural and natural attractions with the downtown area and entertainment district. The City is investing over $31 million in the development of the Ramble, financed through the passage of a larger $226 million public infrastructure bond issue in 2019. The three major elements of the Ramble are the Fay Jones Woods with streetscape and trail improvements, a new 300-space parking deck located at West Ave. and Dickson St. and the civic space with anchor buildings for this site.

About the Site

The design for the civic space consists of a gathering and event lawn, public plaza, garden spaces and a civic promenade, midway between the downtown square and the University campus, and adjacent to the Razorback Regional Greenway, ensuring that this project will contribute to creating a dynamic and experiential place.

The site currently consists of a surface parking lot. A new replacement parking deck will be constructed at the corner of West Ave. and Dickson St. to more efficiently serve the parking needs of the Ramble and the Dickson St. Entertainment District. The civic space is scheduled for construction, beginning with the civic plaza, once the parking deck is complete in 2023. There will be two buildings to anchor the civic plaza, a south building and a north building.

About the South Building

The City's intention is to make sure that development of the southern anchor building on the civic plaza will be both beautiful and of exceptional architectural quality and materiality befitting this extraordinary location. Ultimately, the City envisions this building as a model demonstration of high quality urban design that will set the standard for future downtown development. 

To that end, the City issued a Request for Proposals on Aug. 29, 2021 for development of the southern building. Proposals were accepted on Oct. 26, 2021. City staff have worked with Reindl Properties on a hotel and mixed-use concept that will come before the City Council in October 2022. View the Letter of Intent.

About the North Building

The North Building will be a part of the development agreement negotiated with the replacement parking deck. More details for the mixed-use building on the north end of the civic plaza will be available soon!