Monday, the Board of Aldermen for the City of Ozark voted 2-4 to reject a contentious development project planned for a vacant lot on the square at the corner of W. Church and N. 1st Streets.
The vote followed over an hour of respectful but at times heated debate and discussion. The board had also spent nearly an hour debating the project during their last meeting.
The four story, mostly brick building would have been home to Torgerson Design Partners, with space for a tenant on the first floor. Most of the discussion centered on whether the building’s design, which attempted to blend historic and contemporary elements, fit into the Ozark Courthouse Square Historic District.
Developer and Founder John Torgerson took questions from the board Monday and discussed aspects of the design. He argued that a fundamental aspect of the historic district’s ordinance is that new buildings do not pose as historic. He shared examples from Bentonville and Rogers, Arkansas and expressed frustration with the process.
Torgerson said it's a balancing act to make a building work in this site.
“It’s a tiny little lot,” he explained. “We’re trying to make it fit, and I come tonight because I’m actually confused because we’ve matched every single thing in the ordinance.”
At another point in the evening Torgerson said the company had checked almost every box of the ordinance governing the historic district.
Alderman RJ Flores explained his understanding of where the project failed expectations.
“With our ordinance,” Flores said, “I know that there were two things our city staff didn’t feel fell into that.”
Those elements were a black paneled curtain wall surrounding both sides of the entrance, and the curvature of the penthouse-style fourth floor.
Alderman Bruce Galloway suggested the board was undervaluing Torgerson’s commitment to the square and its history. Torgerson Design Partners already has its office on the square. He said the board risked sending those jobs and future development away from the historic district.
“What we’re doing,” Galloway explained, “is asking him to ship 20-plus jobs off the square. That is not how you economically develop a square. We do not build squares with courthouses and government offices. We build it with business and jobs and commerce.”
Galloway and James Medcalf ultimately voted in favor of the project. They were outvoted by the four other aldermen. The mayor does not vote in these decisions.
Concept photos for the project were shared in the board of aldermen's meeting packet. They can be found in the packet at this link.