(Flyer photo/Todd Gill)A shop that sells Razorback merchandise and apparel has signed on to be the first commercial tenant in the new Dickson Street-area parking deck, a spokesperson for the development told the Flyer.
Dyehard Fan Supply, a company that became the official merchandise partner for the Razorback athletic program in 2018, has signed a lease to open a shop in the new deck, located near the northwest corner of Dickson Street and West Avenue.
The company agreed to a multi-year contract to “handle e-commerce, game day/event merchandising, and permanent, on-site store merchandising for Razorback Athletics,” according to the official announcement of the partnership in 2018. At the time, the UA deal was the first with a Power 5 program for the company, though from the looks of their website, they have added others since then.
The shop will occupy about 3,500 square feet in the area designated for commercial space on the first floor of the development.
The new parking deck is being built to replace the 290-space lot across the street known locally as the Walton Arts Center parking lot. That lot is set to be removed and replaced with an outdoor park and plaza called The Ramble as part of the cultural arts corridor project.
The City Council in March of 2021 approved an initial contract for the deck, and in November approved a second contractfor early site work related to the project. A final change order needed to get construction started was approved in December of that same year.
As part of the contract, the city paid $250,000 to private developers Ted Belden and Greg House for the land needed to build the deck, along with $100,000 to Farmers and Merchants Bank, which operates the Bank of Fayetteville train bank.
The developers can use most of the ground floor of the deck as commercial space per the agreement, with the remainder reserved for the city police substation. The developers will also retain an option to build up to two additional stories on top of the deck for their own use at their own expense.
Once construction of the deck is complete, removal of the parking lot across the street will begin to make way for the outdoor park and plaza, which will include a gathering and event lawn, garden spaces, a promenade and more.
Sterling Hamilton, broker at Cushman Wakefield Sage Partners Real Estate Solutions who is handling leasing for the development, said about 12,000 square feet of retail space is still available for lease in the new deck.
We reached out to Dyehard Fan Supply for more information on their timeline for opening the new shop, and they have not responded to our inquiries so far.
Justin Clay, the city’s parking manager, told us last month that the deck is currently slated to open sometime in late summer or early fall.
Map of available commercial space in the parking deck ( MBL)
