FCRA History

 

In 1995, the U.S. Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission recommended the permanent closure of Fort Chaffee. The federal government opted to lease 65,000 acres to the Arkansas Army National Guard to be used for training. The remaining 7,000+ acres were turned over to local communities for redevelopment. The Arkansas legislature formed the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority in 1997 to oversee the development of the land with the primary goals of returning the property to the tax roles, replacing the 700 jobs lost when Fort Chaffee closed, creating residential developments with quality of life and recreational attractions. A marketing and branding campaign was created for “Chaffee Crossing” in 2009 and a real estate agent has been retained to handle all land sales offers and transactions.

 

FCRA is dedicated to ensuring this great opportunity reaches its full potential through the execution of a Master Land Use Plan. They are conscientious stewards of this resource and will ensure that the public receives the full market potential for the property. To accomplish this, guidelines are required to enhance and perpetuate property values, to manage the timing of land sales to coincide with supply and demands in the market, and to schedule efficient expansion of the infrastructure. In addition to economic stewardship, the natural resources of the area must be conserved and the history of the area must be honored in the new community.

 

FCRA Board Members believe that:


Chaffee Crossing has become a community where buildings hold their value over time and a place where the older may be more valuable than the new. This will be a community where builders can be assured that subsequent builders will honor the investment they have made.

 


FCRA Structure

 

FCRA is a quasi-governmental sunset agency that submits to an annual public audit. A nine-member board of directors approves or rejects land and building purchase offers and oversees budgeting and personnel issues. The board meets monthly on the third Thursday of each month.

 

Subcommittees of the board meet as needed throughout the year. These include:

 

Once the independent auditors determine that the inventory of marketable land available for sale is depleted to the point that it can no longer sustain FCRA operations, the FCRA Board and its beneficiaries, the City of Fort Smith, the City of Barling and Sebastian County, must agree to dissolve the trust. All trust assets will then be allocated to the beneficiaries.

 


Click here to download the FCRA Bylaws

 

Click here to download the FCRA Indenture of Trust

Recent News


Feb 16, 2023

The Fort Chaffee Development Authority (FCRA) Board of Trustees approved the sale of two buildings in the Historic District at Chaffee Crossing to Monte Cervino Beverage of Colorado Springs, CO, for use as winery, cidery and coffee roasting business and tasting room during its regular meeting Thursday (Feb. 16, 2023).

 


Feb 5, 2023

Fort Chaffee continued to make improvements to the River Valley in 2022, with Executive Director and CEO Daniel Mann saying the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority is the strongest it's been in its 25-year history.


Jan 27, 2023

The FCRA is the economic development project in Fort Smith behind Chaffee Crossing, and it released its 2022 annual report. One measure in the report shows more than $4 million in real estate taxes have been generated by property sold last year.


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