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Bentonville Schools and Accelerate Foundation outline staff‑housing plan; lawmakers and residents press legal, fiscal and access questions
Summary
Bentonville Schools and the Accelerate Foundation described a proposed staff‑housing project on six acres adjacent to Bentonville High: roughly 100 units (60 LIHTC apartments, 40 staff cottages including a 20‑unit shared‑equity track), an estimated $24–25M project funded by LIHTC, philanthropy and foundation investment. Legislators and public commenters raised constitutional, statutory (Ark. Code §6‑21‑8‑15), liability, appraisal and transparency concerns and requested further legal and planning clarifications.
Bentonville School District leaders and the Accelerate Foundation presented an informational briefing to the Education Committee on a proposed staff housing project adjacent to Bentonville High School. Superintendent Debbie Jones said rising housing and rental costs in Northwest Arkansas have impeded hiring and retention; she described a multi‑partner concept to provide lower‑cost rentals and a shared‑equity path to ownership for district employees.
Project overview: Accelerate Foundation and partners proposed roughly 100 housing units on about 6 developable acres on the high school campus. The concept presented includes two apartment buildings (about 60 units) to be funded largely through federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) allocations administered by ADFA, and 40 single‑family “cottages” dedicated to district staff; about half of the 40 cottages would be operated as rentals and half as a shared‑equity ownership track. Webster (Accelerate) described an illustrative price structure: a market two‑bedroom apartment in the area runs around $1,500; LIHTC rents would target roughly $750; staff…
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