Project could be catalyst for North Walton Boulevard

BENTONVILLE — A retail development has the potential to spark development along North Walton Boulevard just as Arvest Bank did for downtown, according to a city planning official.

The three-building development will be at the corner of North Walton Boulevard and Northwest Third Street.

The northernmost building will be 3,420 square feet and include retail and restaurant space. The 2,697-squarefoot middle building will have restaurant space, and the 3,489-square-foot, most southern building will house retail, according to Rich Grubbs with Arkansas Commercial Real Estate and city documents.

Grubbs is developing the land, which used to hold a small strip mall, Jim’s Razorback Pizza and an EZ Mart. The strip mall and pizza joint have been demolished. Part of the EZ Mart still remains on the corner with Northwest Third Street.

The Planning Commission approved 6-0 Grubbs’ plans at its Tuesday meeting. Commissioner Tregg Brown was absent.

Grubbs asked questions be emailed to him. He didn’t respond before deadline.

Troy Galloway, community and economic development director, said Tuesday afternoon he told Grubbs how important the project could be to the development efforts on the city’s main north-south corridors.

He recalled when the city invested in renovating the downtown square infrastructure in the early and mid-2000s and Arvest Bank

on the square’s north side was the first business to make renovate its building.

It helped give confidence to other property owners downtown was a worthy place to invest in, he said.

“I think what Mr. Grubbs is doing on North Walton (Boulevard) has the potential to serve in a similar role, and that’s to suggest to would-be developers and investors that North Walton Boulevard is a good bet,” Galloway said.

The city has been working to revitalize North Walton Boulevard. It adopted an enhancement plan for North Walton in 2013, which emphasizes better and safer access for motorists and pedestrians, pleasing aesthetics with inviting streetscapes and architecture updates and establishing a mix of residential and commercial development.

Grubbs’ development has removed a strip mall, but several others along North Walton pose challenges for development, officials have said.

“It’s a huge issue in many communities around the country,” said David Morley, senior research associate with American Planning Association, a national organization representing the urban planning field.

Strip mall construction was a trend from the 1950s through the 1970s, but market dynamic changes since have made them poorly positioned in the market place, Morley said Tuesday afternoon.

Now many are functionally obsolete because they’ve reached their intended lifespan, and many places across the country are over- built with commercial space as online retail options continue to grow, he said.

“It plays out in different ways in different communities,” Morley said, later adding, “(Strip mall) properties themselves often don’t lend themselves to reuse because they’re either functionally obsolete or because the types of tenants that are looking for store spaces don’t want to be in strip malls. They want to be in … properties they perceive to be higher in status.”

Planning officials will continue to look at the best ways to revitalize North Walton Boulevard this year with the help of Boyette Strategic Advisors, the Little Rock firm creating the Bentonville Blueprint, the city’s economic development plan, Galloway said.