Owners of Fayetteville landmark theater 112 Drive-In are seeking a rezoning that would allow for redevelopment of the property, according to a recent report from The Fayetteville Flyer. The 112 Drive-In sits on nearly 20-acres off Highway 112, near Van Asche Drive in north Fayetteville.
The Flyer’s Todd Gill reported that a request was submitted earlier this month to “change the land from a strictly commercial zone to an urban thoroughfare district,” allowing for a variety of commercial and residential uses.
A letter submitted to Fayetteville city planners by an attorney representing the developers show the property is set to be sold to CL Partners, LLC. In the letter, Attorney Steve Brooks said the requested district correlates with the city’s future land use plan for the area, which designates the property as an Urban Center Area intended to accommodate residential, retail and entertainment uses.
While a site plan designed by Hodges Architecture of Dallas reportedly shows the movie screen at the north end of the site replaced with housing units, the plan also shows a smaller outdoor movie screen on the southeast corner of the land, next to an 805-seat cinema with a beer garden. The southwest portion of the site includes a proposed 10,000-SF retail or restaurant space with parking.
Gill said a representative from the 112 Drive-In said the owners do not plan to be involved in the operations of either new cinema space, “but are thrilled with the new prospective owners’ plans for the project and land development.”
The Fayetteville Planning Commission is set to discuss the rezoning request at its April 11 meeting. Once commissioners decide on a recommendation, the City Council will make the final decision.
The 112 Drive-In is one of only three remaining permanent drive-in theaters in Arkansas, along with Kenda Drive-In in Marshall and Stone Drive-In in Mountain View.
The theater is still in operation and celebrated its 40th season in 2020, having opened in 1980. In a 2020 interview with Arkansas Money & Politics, Janie Dunn-Rankin said 112 is a family-owned business.
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