Sen. Jim Petty, R-Van Buren, addresses a crowd gathered at ribbon cutting ceremony for an affordable housing community in Fayetteville on Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate)
Collaboration was key to providing affordable housing to around 300 people in west Fayetteville, according to community leaders who attended a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday for a new 89-unit development.
The Cobblestone Farm community, which rents single-family homes, duplexes and triplexes for $373 to $753 per month, is one of the latest projects aimed at addressing the affordable housing crisis in a region of Arkansas where the population has rapidly expanded, boosting housing costs.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Addressing housing affordability is a key priority for the region because the median home price in Northwest Arkansas has grown 240% over the last six or seven years, said Brad Sikorski, president and CEO of the Excellerate Foundation, one of the partners in the Cobblestone Farm project.
“It’s a huge challenge that we face as a community, and we need more projects like this,” Sikorski said.
In addition to the Cobblestone Farm community, the Excellerate Foundation, is working on an affordable housing development for Bentonville School District employees and a new housing project in Rogers.
Excellerate President and CEO Brad Sikorski speaks at a ribbon cutting ceremony for an affordable housing community in west Fayetteville on Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate)
The Cobblestone Farm community, which opened to renters earlier this year and is already at capacity, is the result of partnerships between multiple organizations, including Strategic Realty, which is led by Van Buren Republican state Sen. Jim Petty, and New Heights Church, which owns the land and is renting it for $1 per year for 99 years.
Advertisement
Advertisement
The Fayetteville City Council annexed and rezoned 30 acres for the project in 2020, and officials broke ground in 2022, according to the Fayetteville Flyer.
“We hope [this] will be a long-term, life-changing investment in affordable housing here in Fayetteville,” Petty said.
The Arkansas Development Finance Authority provided more than 90% of resources used to finance the nearly $21 million project by accessing the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program and the National Housing Trust Fund, ADFA Director of Tax Credits John Blackwell said.
The Fayetteville development was also supported by an $850,000 Affordable Housing Program grant awarded by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas through Arvest Bank for construction costs, according to a press release.
Advertisement
Advertisement
A 2019 report brought Northwest Arkansas’ affordable housing issue into focus. A new study released in May that builds on that report found that housing priority needs identified five years ago — a lack of regional housing policies, need for diverse housing options, limited choices for low-income households and weak links between housing and transportation — remain “even more acute.”
Groups throughout the community have started tackling the issue through various strategies, including the creation of a workforce housing center that announced the creation of a 77-unit mixed-income apartment project in downtown Springdale in 2023. More recently, the University of Arkansas celebrated the dedication of a new timber-focused facility last week where students can work on affordable housing solutions.
Efforts to construct more housing to meet the demands of the region’s growing population have been stymied in some cities due to a lack of wastewater infrastructure. The state appears to be taking steps to address that issue with the governor’s announcement last week of a comprehensive water reclamation study to inform the state’s water plan and guide future wastewater infrastructure projects in Northwest Arkansas.
Meanwhile, discussions around the housing issue are expected to continue between lawmakers and the public. On Thursday, state and Northwest Arkansas elected officials discussed ways to address housing costs during a housing conference in Cave Springs, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. Petty attended the summit and told the Advocate Friday that all meetings like that are productive, but it’s just the beginning because “there’s a lot of work to be done.”
Advertisement
Advertisement
During the 2025 legislative session, Petty introduced a bill focused on the housing crisis that has since been sent to interim study. Officials won’t be able to spend their way out of this problem and instead will have to consider a combination of tactics, such as reforming building and zoning policies and providing better education on the topic, Petty said.
“There’s just a lot of things that need to happen, and I think the more we talk about it and the more that we do it in a way that is collaborative and we put our own personal preferences and our own egos out of the way, the sooner that we can get to solving the real problems,” he said.
In another effort to keep the conversation going, the Northwest Arkansas Council announced Thursday an eight-day series of community meetings and events seeking input on the region’s growth. The Growing Home NWA Roadshow kicks off Sept. 17 in Centerton. A full schedule is available here.