The neighborhood east of the University may seem like any other college neighborhood in America. The houses vary in size and structure, some modern, some historic. Some are rented by different students every year, some have been occupied by the same families for decades.
But some residents say one thing sets the neighborhood apart from others — it could soon be home to a multi-million dollar basketball arena.
The University is looking to build a basketball arena on the site now occupied by Williams’ Bakery, leaving area residents wondering what will become of their homes and whether the arena construction will adhere to the current atmosphere of the neighborhood.
In a written statement dated Nov. 11, University Vice President for Advancement Allan Price said the University has been meeting with the owners of the bakery, United States Bakery, and is hopeful that a satisfactory outcome will be reached soon.
“These meetings have been very productive, and all parties are working to sort through the remaining details,” the statement reads.
Media Relations Director Pauline Austin said University officials will not comment on any other aspects of the arena planning process because nothing has been finalized.
Though there is no formal plan to demolish any houses in the neighborhood, some residents say it could be an inevitable part of the arena’s development and are worried their voices will be drowned out by the sounds of construction.
Sophomore Sean Davis rents a house two blocks from the tentative arena site with four friends and said though he feels no real attachment to the neighborhood, other residents have been a part of the neighborhood for decades and should have a say in what is built on the blocks surrounding their homes.
“I don’t think the community really has much input into it,” Davis said. “I feel bad for people who have lives here.”
The Fairmount Neighbors Association, a coalition of east university neighborhood residents, has not taken a formal stance against the arena, co-chairman Jeff Nelson said, because the group wants to ensure the community has a say in what gets built in the neighborhood while maintaining a productive relationship with the University.
The Fairmount Neighbors opposed a zone change granted to Williams’ Bakery last month because the rezoning removed a mandatory site review, which lets the public discuss a site’s impact on the surrounding neighborhood and scrutinize any aspects of the site that may be considered a nuisance.
The city approved the rezoning earlier this month and Nelson said the Fairmount Neighbors will not fight the change because there is no legal stipulation against it, and it is not directly related to the University or the new arena.
Even with the rezoning and subsequent removal of a mandatory site review, Nelson said a “conditional use process” exists with compatibility concerns that must be looked at if anything is to be built on the site. So even with the lack of a site review, neighborhood concerns can be still voiced.
Rather than fight a zone change that is within the bakery’s legal right to have and possibly hinder the sale of the land, Nelson said the Fairmount Neighbors is concentrating on the conditional use process and planning ways to ensure compatibility concerns are considered if the basketball arena or anything else is built on the site.
Fighting the rezoning was productive because it made the group more familiar with city ordinances and taught members a great deal about the city planning process, Nelson said.
“Even though we lost, in some ways, I think we won,” Nelson said.
Ward 3 City Councilor David Kelly said he has not had contact with the University about the arena for many months, but he is hopeful the University will involve the neighborhood in the planning process.
“I want to see a collaborative process that has the neighborhood residents at the table,” Kelly said.
Senior architecture student Michael Hahn has been working on a design for the new arena all term as part of his interior design course and said he is very interested in exploring how construction affects the
surrounding community.
Hahn and the rest of the class will present their designs Friday to their professor and Bob Thompson, the architect designing the new arena, and hear some of his ideas about the project. Thompson is Nike CEO Phil Knight’s primary contractor, Hahn said.
Though there is no guarantee that Thompson will incorporate any of the class’s ideas, Hahn said he is hopeful some of what he has learned from studying the surrounding area will rub off on the final arena design.
Hahn said that too often there is a tendency to ignore the needs of the neighborhood when designing buildings because of the barrage of factors that architects must consider.
“I’d like to see that kind of mentality disappear,” Hahn said.
Kelly said it is important for the University to incorporate community views into the planning process because of the “strident opposition” that could arise if the University “simply announces projects or decides to move forward without meetings.”
Davis said it is almost wishful thinking to ask for community involvement in the new arena.
“As much as they like to act like the area around it has a say in what goes on, we don’t,” Davis said.
Kelly said the best place for students to go if they wish to be involved in the neighborhood’s involvement with the arena is the Fairmount Neighbors Association, which meets periodically throughout the year.
“They have official standing with the city,” Kelly said.

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