Managing the growth
During meetings of the Northwest Arkansas Council, which I sometimes attend, council officials like to recap big developments taking place in this corner of our state. These days, there’s so much going on that doing so would be impossible.
In one of the fastest-growing regions of the country, here’s a sample of what’s happening as the northwest Arkansas boom becomes even boomier:
■ The already spectacular Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is increasing its size by 50 percent. Almost 100,000 square feet are being added to the 200,000-square-foot architectural gem in Bentonville, increasing the museum’s capacity for exhibitions, educational and outreach initiatives, cultural programming and community events. Crystal Bridges has had more than 5 million visitors since opening Nov. 11, 2011.
■ Walmart is building a $1 billion corporate campus that will be unlike anything this part of the country has seen. Tower cranes rise above the massive project, which is akin to constructing a major university campus from scratch. Meanwhile, the move to the new corporate campus will open up exciting redevelopment opportunities for land currently occupied by Walmart’s home office. I can’t wait to see the Walton family’s plans for that property.
■ Tyson Foods is consolidating its white-collar workforce from across the country in Arkansas. We’ve become so accustomed to good economic news coming out of northwest Arkansas that this story was underplayed by Arkansas media outlets. When you bring in 1,000 white-collar workers, that’s the equivalent of a corporate relocation. It’s as if a Fortune 500 company announced that it was moving its headquarters from another state to northwest Arkansas.
■ Work continues on the Whole Health Institute and the nearby Alice Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville. The medical school will welcome its inaugural class in 2025, offering a four-year medical degree program that uses what’s known as a whole-person approach to care. There are hundreds of millions of dollars in other capital investments planned for medical facilities in Washington and Benton counties.
■ The Amazeum at Bentonville, already recognized as being among the nation’s top children’s museums, announced a $10.3 million gift from the Scott family to create outdoor spaces, expand educational initiatives and build a 5,000-square-foot structure for community gatherings.
■ A crowd of 10,000 descended on Bentonville last fall for the inaugural year of FORMAT, an art, music and technology festival. The second event is taking place this weekend, adding to Bentonville’s growing reputation as a cutting-edge destination. A story in The Wall Street Journal earlier this year had this headline: “This Small Ozarks Town—Home to Walmart Headquarters—Is Becoming a New Capital of Cool.” The story described Bentonville as “a surprising hot spot for delicious food and innovative art.”
■ Northwest Arkansas National Airport is beginning work on a $34 million terminal renovation that will include more elevators, escalators and stairwells. There also will be new baggage-handling equipment, information desks, flight information displays, flooring and lighting.
■ Bentonville has become the official home of the U.S. national mountain bike team. Athletes are utilizing the region’s network of trails and gravel roads for endurance fitness camps and skills development camps. The city also will become the national base for USA Cycling’s collegiate operations and other functions related to the growth of grassroots bike racing.
■ The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville has a record enrollment of 32,140 this fall. That’s a 3.9 percent increase over the previous year. In the past five years, enrollment at the state’s flagship university has increased 15.7 percent. During the past five years, the number of Arkansans in the incoming class has increased 19.5 percent.
■ Fayetteville has opened the Lower Ramble, part of the city’s emerging cultural arts corridor. The project converted a wooded area between West and Gregg avenues into a nature attraction with trails, elevated walkways, an overlook, native landscaping and a variety of seating areas. A neighboring creek was restored, invasive species were removed and access was improved to the Razorback Greenway from the Fayetteville Public Library.
“The region is going to look different a decade from now, but you have to make sure you preserve your quality of life while growing,” says Nelson Peacock, the Northwest Arkansas Council’s president and chief executive officer.
Council officials estimate there are 10,200 unfilled jobs in the region even though people continue to move here.
These days, as pointed out in my cover story for today’s Perspective section, council officials must worry about problems that come with growth. Those include a lack of affordable housing. The council was founded in 1990 and focused in its early days on infrastructure improvements: a regional airport, improved roads, drinking water.
In a 2015 history of the council, which was commissioned to celebrate its 25th anniversary, it was noted: “The first big regional infrastructure successes that involved the council were highways. In 1995, a four-lane 10-mile section of U.S. 71 was widened from Interstate 40 to Mountainburg, shortening the drive to Fayetteville.
Next, $50 million was spent to build U.S. 412 from Siloam Springs to Springdale. The 412 project was finished in 1996.
“All the while, more and more people were getting behind the airport. Scott Van Laningham, a former journalist, was hired by the council’s Uvalde Lindsey in 1992. Van Laningham was ready to contribute, and Lindsey unintentionally made it difficult at first.
Van Laningham told an interviewer in 2015: “We had a meeting with engineers on the layout of the airport, and he knew more about the plan than the guys who wrote it. The second meeting was with the airport finance guys, and he knew more about their plan than they did. The third meeting was about the Onward Airport campaign. I thought, ‘Great, I can contribute to this.’ Same thing happened. Not five minutes into the meeting it was clear that he knew more about it than anyone.”
Raymond Burns of the Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce said of Lindsey: “I truly believe he reads the Federal Register at night just for fun. He knows where all the nooks and crannies are. He knew what it would take to get a project like the airport done. It was his intelligence and his wife Carol’s persistence that got it done.”
Alice Walton chaired the council at the start. She was followed by U.S. Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt. Council charter member Mark Simmons said of Walton: “She will say the higher accomplishment was the airport, but let’s not forget she did a lot for getting 412.”
The airport opened in November 1998. Thousands turned out to see President Bill Clinton arrive on Air Force One. In January 1999, a four-lane divided highway opened between Mountainburg and Fayetteville. It’s now Interstate 49, connecting northwest Arkansas to Interstate 40 at Alma. Later in 1999, the Benton/ Washington Regional Public Water Authority began delivering Beaver Lake water to small towns in Benton and Washington counties.
According to the council history: “With water being pumped, U.S. 412 and U.S. 71 much improved, and airlines taking more than 350,000 regional airport passengers a year to destinations, the council was at a crossroads. In short, what next?”
“We had a council meeting about whether we should declare victory and go home,” Van Laningham said. “We decided to keep the effort going. We had made too much progress. Everyone wanted to continue.”
The council began to focus on areas such as creating a regional brand, increasing the number of college graduates, establishing a wayfinding system, encouraging downtown development, focusing on health care and diversifying the regional economy. Those efforts continue as yet another golden era dawns.