The Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority (FCRA) is a public trust created by the Arkansas Legislature in 1997 to plan and manage the redevelopment of the former Fort Chaffee military installation in Fort Smith and Barling, Arkansas.
FCRA implements a smart-growth comprehensive master land use plan across 5,104 acres, transforming former federal property into one of Arkansas’s premier mixed-use communities.
Chaffee Crossing is not a concept on the drawing board: it is an established community with a proven record of public and private investment. Our mission is to build a sustainable environment that fosters innovation, education, and economic growth, attracts investment, and enhances the quality of life for everyone who visits, lives, or works in Chaffee Crossing.
Through strong public‑private partnerships, we lower land and infrastructure costs while fostering livable neighborhoods and thriving business districts.
The area’s well‑preserved historic assets help us shape distinctive places that offer a one‑of‑a‑kind experience for residents, students, workers, and visitors alike.
FCRA Audit Reports
A Modern Mixed-Use Community with a Proud Past
- 1941: Camp Chaffee established as a temporary World War II training camp and prisoner-of-war facility.
- 1995–1997: Federal Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) and creation of Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority (FCRA) as a public trust.
- 2000 - 2003: FCRA received more than 5,400 acres of land from the U.S. Army to sell and develop.
- 2005: Grand opening for Graphic Packaging (first industrial company to locate at Chaffee Crossing)
- 2015: Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE) breaks ground on its Chaffee Crossing campus.
- 2017: ArcBest corporate headquarters opens at Chaffee Crossing
- 2021: U.S. Air Force selects Ebbing Air National Guard Base (adjacent to Chaffee Crossing) as preferred site for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Pilot Training Center for F-16 and F-35 jets.
- 2023: Projected capital investment exceeded $2.5 billion.
- 2024: Foreign pilots begin training at FMS center.
- 2024 Chaffee Crossing employment surpassed 3,500 jobs.
- 2025: Number of homes built in Chaffee Crossing exceeded 2,600.
