South yard - The Next Big Thing in Fayetteville?

If you live in North Arkansas and are wondering about what’s going on in South Yard in Fayetteville, you’re not alone! This area, located between College and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard is about to transform into a great entertainment place for everyone, and I will tell you all about it.

South Yard is about to become a huge entertainment hub in Fayetteville. It will include 128 apartments, a big hotel, and at least 3 major restaurants. In the future, expect to see even more restaurants, bars, and music venues in the area. Most of this project will be built and completed within 2023.

Stick around if you want to know more! I will cover everything being built in South Yard, including housing, hotels, restaurants, and more.

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What Is Southyard in Fayetteville?

Before we get into details, let’s explore the backstory of South Yard in South Fayetteville. A long time ago, the area of South Yard, located at the corner of College and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, was owned by a farm cooperative.

However, years ago, it was bought by developers who now have a huge master plan of what that area will look like. Construction only started last year, but it’s been progressing quickly and is expected to be completed in 2023. We can look at the plan and see what’s in store for South Yard.

Apartments in South Yard

The first important thing you should know about this south town area is that it will include around 128 apartments. The whole South Yard area is pretty large, so there’s room for all these apartments and a commercial area.

Many South Yard apartments are already established; most seem finished and filled out already. I have checked the construction site myself, and it appears that the whole area is developing pretty fast. The design of the apartments is next level in all the ways that matter.

The architecture, design, and materials used are distinct, unlike the standard ones you’re used to seeing in other apartments. For instance, the parking spots are filled with pea gravel, which struck me as an odd choice, but there’s a reason behind this decision, which I’ll discover eventually.

Now that the apartments are finished, the next stage of development will be building the commercial space.

The Next Big Hotel

South Yard will include apartments and a whole entertainment area for the south part of Fayetteville. The hotel will be quite large, around seven stories tall, making it one of the tallest buildings in Fayetteville, next to the Graduate, located in downtown Fayetteville.

This area is expected to be a real hub for entertainment in Fayetteville. Naturally, it will connect to the trail system, as the Razorback pathway is right there. The hotel will probably be finished last, probably in mid or late 2024, but the rest of the buildings I will talk about will start and finish in 2023, so this project will be moving quickly.

3 Major Restaurants

Now that I’ve told you all about housing, it’s time to delve into the most important aspect; let’s talk about food! Three major restaurants, which I am very excited about, are about to be built in this area of Fayetteville, and this is just the start. More and more commercial spaces are being rented out every day, so expect to see even more options in the future.

Central BBQ

Central BBQ is a major player in the Southern-Midwestern region regarding all things barbeque. It only has 9 locations across the country, but it’s planning to expand, and South Yard, Fayetteville, is lucky to become its next destination. Central BBQ has already committed to be there, which is very exciting.

Tacos & Tamales

The second restaurant, which I’m probably even more excited about, is Tacos & Tamales. If you’re familiar with Bentonville Tacos & Tamales, one of my favorite places up in Bentonville on the square, you’ll be happy to know that it’s coming down to South yard as well.

The Meteor Cafe

The most exciting, in my opinion, is The Meteor, which I am a big fan of. If you are a Bentonville native or come from Austin, Texas, you know about The Meteor. This place is a kind of bike-shop-slash-coffee-shop-slash-restaurant, and it’s coming to Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Going to the Meteor is such a trip. The one in Bentonville is located really close to the Momentary downtown section. The food is incredible, and it’s probably the most fun place to catch yourself on a night in Bentonville. It’s fun, cool, and a collaboration of many different things in Bentonville.

The first location of the Meteor was in Austin, Texas. Their second location is Bentonville, and now, their third location will be South Yard in Fayetteville. The Meteor owners used to own Intelligentsia, a coffee brand in Chicago, my home area, so it’s nice to see them come to Fayetteville.

What’s Next for Southyard?

The south part of Fayetteville has been building up very fast in the last couple of years and is becoming an entertainment hub, as I explained above. The entertainment part is the core of this project. The developers are also looking at building music venues and other entertainment options.

An interesting observation is that the developers incorporated the farm co-op style; they did not demolish the buildings but incorporated them into their project, which is where the commercial space will be.

They have nine acres of play space to work with. There will be many restaurants, apartments, a dog park, and community garden trail system. South Fayetteville will become a major entertainment hub.

Another significant development is something called the Cultural Arts Corridor in Fayetteville. The first part of the arts corridor is the Lower Ramble, connected to the Razorback pathway, next to the Fayetteville Library. The Upper Ramble will be up at Dixon Street, which will be part of the lower section of the arts corridor connected to the Razorback pathway.

It’s exciting to know that there will be this massive corridor of fun things to do in Fayetteville throughout the week, all connected to the Razorback pathway.

And with that, you should be all caught up with Southyard and everything related to it. Up next, check out my article highlighting must-know things happening in NWA.

Conclusion

There you have it — everything you need to know about the South Yard project, which will transform south Fayetteville into a real entertainment hub. There will be apartments, but there will also be a big hotel and plenty of restaurants, bars, and music venues. This project is developing rapidly, so we should be able to check most of it out by the end of the year.

South yard – The Next Big Thing in Fayetteville?