Tyson’s $1M gift set to aid city core

Its worker center also is moving in

SPRINGDALE — Downtown Springdale’s revitalization got a boost Friday after Tyson Foods Inc. donated $1 million to the effort and announced it is moving workers back to Emma Avenue.

“Springdale is not just about our past. Springdale is about our future,” Donnie Smith, president and chief executive officer of Tyson, told more than 800 people at the Springdale Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting at the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center.

The Springdale-based company started on Emma Avenue 80 years ago and this summer will open its employment center and company store at 516 E. Emma Ave. The building, which will house about 25 employees, will be named the Tyson Foods JTL Building in recognition of its original use as a Jones Truck Lines terminal in the 1930s.

Linda Wray, Tyson’s vice president of compensation and recognition, said renovation plans for the 28,000-square-foot building are pending, and she would not say how much the proj-

ect is expected to cost. Tyson purchased the building in June for $450,000.

“We believe bringing employees downtown is just as important as the monetary gift,” she said.

Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse echoed that sentiment.

“The $1 million gift speaks for itself; it’s a great help to the revitalization efforts,” he said. “But when you are talking about a facility that is bringing jobs downtown, that is something that will continue to provide opportunities for more and more support businesses to open.”

Tyson owns two additional buildings downtown: the original Tyson headquarters at 319 E. Emma Ave., and the Brown building at 317 E. Emma, which it purchased from the city last year. Smith said those buildings also will be renovated.

The donation will help the Downtown Springdale Alliance meet its goals much quicker, said Lisa Ray, the group’s vice chairman.

The alliance is a nonprofit group. Ray said the alliance has a $20 million plan and believed it would take about 20 years to fulfill.

The group is working on its 2015 budget and early plans include a comprehensive downtown master plan and eventually hiring an executive director.

The alliance hired Daniel Hintz, owner of Velocity Group, to help outline the group’s mission. Hintz worked as executive director of Fayetteville Downtown Partners and Downtown Bentonville Inc. before starting his consulting firm.

“People are starting to believe that story in Springdale,” he said.

New businesses have moved downtown in anticipation of increased foot traffic, Hintz said, pointing to the renovation work at the Apollo. The former theater at 308 W. Emma Ave. is being turned into an event center. And the Razorback Greenway, a 36-mile trail stretching from Fayetteville to Lake Bella Vista, runs through downtown and the new Walter Turnbow Park.