Next Chapter Neighborhoods, a company that develops rent-only, apartment-style, single-family communities, is asking the Fayetteville City Council to allow it to expand into the city. When City Council member Sarah Moore heard the pitch, she said, “It doesn’t feel very Fayetteville.”
The pitch was delivered at a Sept. 16 city council meeting by Andrew Malzer, vice president of development at Next Chapter Neighborhoods. According to the company’s website, it offers “all the comforts of owning a home, with all the convenience of renting.”
Malzer attended the meeting to request the rezoning of an area in northwest Fayetteville, where Next Chapter Neighborhoods intends to build its sixth development. Malzer said this type of development is attractive to those age 55 and older and those on fixed incomes.
“You pay your rent to us, and everything’s taken care of for you,” he said.
He added that Next Chapter Neighborhoods differs from typical build-to-rent developments because it has fewer units and more amenities.
The area, located on North Raven Lane, is currently zoned for up to 500 homes. The company is requesting to downzone it to just under 300 homes.
The City of Fayetteville declared a housing crisis in April 2024 and continues to fall short of demand. The city provided 1,179 fewer housing units than necessary in April 2025, according to Fayetteville’s housing assessment.
Several community members at the meeting opposed the downzoning.
“I think this sounds a bit tone-deaf based on all the conversations we’ve been having locally, and I’m not exactly sure down-zoning makes sense right there,” Fayetteville resident Wes Bates said during public comment.
Moore cited findings in the city’s housing assessment while questioning Malzer and said she would like to know whom in Fayetteville the development serves.
“You talked about being on a fixed income lifestyle, and I haven’t been able to do the math,” she said. “But talking about two and a half times the rent on some of the rents that I saw, I’m just real curious about what kind of profile and individual … that answers for.”
The company offers units with one to four bedrooms, with prices ranging from $1,600 to $2,400.
Another Fayetteville resident, Jim Erwin, said he does not think the build-to-rent development truly caters to fixed-income residents because of its rent prices.
“That is the high end of the going rate of college student apartments at about $600 a person,” Erwin said. “And that’s pretty high for anybody that is 55 and over or on fixed income or anything like that.”
Next Chapter Neighborhoods plans to use the space saved by downzoning for luxury amenities.
“We put less units, way more amenities, way more attention to detail,” Malzer said.
He said the development will include amenities such as a pool, pickleball courts and a playground. He added that these features help foster community in Next Chapter’s developments.
Moore said she thinks trading residential space for these amenities creates a disconnect because the development is already located next to newly constructed Underwood Park, which is equipped with millions of dollars’ worth of amenities.
“You kind of flipped it where it’s sitting right beside this amenity-rich Underwood Park, but you’re going to put a lot more amenities versus houses,” she said. “And I’m kind of confused about that, because then we’re going to have our parkgoers and our city community members there who may be living in poverty, and they’re sitting there staring at these lush amenities.”
Erwin, who lives by Underwood Park, said he does not think Next Chapter Neighborhoods has followed the agreement it made with the neighboring communities. He said that when the community agreed to support the development, they were under the impression it would include clinics, law offices and dentists’ offices, not a housing subdivision.
“I don’t feel like this is a great use of this piece of property,” he said. “And I ask that you do not allow it.”
The proposal was left on its first reading at the September meeting, meaning no vote was taken on the proposal, and the council must reexamine it at a later date. The City Council will revisit the request on Oct. 7.