Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Town Center a growing attraction
FAYETTEVILLE — Town Center employees hope visitors notice the change in the vibe that goes along with the thousands of dollars of work the event space has undergone over the past year.
Workers with Benchmark Construction are replacing the stairs leading to the main entrance. The World Peace Prayer Fountain near the entrance was restored with a new pool that doesn’t leak and has an upgraded filtration system. The conference room and office area off the lobby is now rentable space, and the offices moved next door. A linen storage room and coat check station turned into a hospitality suite and concierge station. The guts of the building, such as the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, are more modern and economical. The lobby’s been spruced up. There’s a new website. And, a revitalized managerial staff is handling all of it.
All told, about a half a million tourism and city dollars have been dedicated to the center. There’s more in store.
Molly Rawn, executive director of the city’s tourism bureau Experience Fayetteville, said the Advertising and Promotion Commission recognizing the Town Center’s value has made the difference.
“For the Town Center to continue to grow and meet the changing needs of our community, we have to invest in it,” she said. “It is an asset.”
The A&P Commission is the governing body over the tourism bureau. Half the city’s 2 percent hotel, motel and restaurant sales tax goes toward promoting tourism, while the other half goes to parks.
Rawn hired Town Center General Manager Jordan Garcia about a year ago. Garcia said he considers hospitality an art form, and has taken that approach with everything the center has to offer.
“A lot of it is people — making sure you have the right people in the right places, and that they have goals and ambition,” he said. “At the end of the day we all have the same goal, and that’s just to give our guests the best memorable experience they can have.”
Personnel has changed up a little bit. A director of sales, Tina Archer, was hired. Director of Event Services Monica Jannati and Event Services Manager Maddie Seaton had their duties more narrowly defined. A new position was
added and Joshua Cheshier was hired as facility manager.
Now, instead of contracting out maintenance and repair work, Cheshier serves in-house to address those needs. Additionally, bartenders who were contracted before now are employees.
The line item for wages at the Town Center jumped from about $217,000 in the 2017 budget to $276,000 in the 2018 budget. The total amount of money dedicated to personnel has stayed about the same when considering the shifting of contract workers to employees, Rawn said.
The new organization streamlined operations and created a better workflow, Garcia said. It’s the little things, such as designing custom signs and providing gift baskets for clients, that keeps the events rolling at the center, he said.
Bookings have jumped, Garcia said. The center made about $605,000 last year. It has already made about $700,000 so far this year, Garcia said.
Most of the center’s business comes from repeat clients within Northwest Arkansas, but the clientele is growing, Garcia said.
Children’s Advocacy Center of Springdale has held its Dream Big Charity Gala at the Town Center for 11 years. Money raised at the event increases every year, said Emily Rappe-Fisher, development director for the center.
Gala donations have gone from about $47,000 six years ago to $160,000 at its most recent event in July. Rappe-Fisher said Town Center event staff has always helped with setup and having the gala run smoothly.
“It’s our vision, but they make into a layout that we can use,” she said.
The city owns the Town Center building and parking deck below and leases it to Experience Fayetteville. The tourism bureau is responsible for the maintenance of the inside of the building and peace fountain, while the city handles the public right of way outside.
The City Council in August approved a $205,000 contract with Benchmark Construction to fix the stairs. Water had leaked from the fountain nearby, causing the steps to settle about 3 inches.
The A&P Commission dedicated about $100,000 to fixing the fountain earlier this year. With that work done, the stairs don’t run the risk of deteriorating anytime soon, said Wade Abernathy, facilities manager for the city.
Work on the stairs is expected to take until about November, Abernathy said. They’ll have reinforced steel, rounded edges and lighting beneath the stairs and along the handrails.
“If we’re going to redo it, we want to get it up to current standards and make it look good,” he said.
Plans also are in the works to resurface the plaza to give it a longer lifespan and water-proof the brick on the planters, Abernathy said. The commission late last year decided to dedicate $50,000 toward new plaza furniture and planters, which have been installed.
A voter-approved bond issue paid for the Town Center to be built in 2001, so residents should have an event space they can be proud of, Rawn said. That’s achieved not just in capital improvements and maintenance but in the way the center does business, she said.
More events mean more visitors, which translates to tourism dollars and more money for the city, Rawn said.
“We are just getting started in the ways in which we’re investing in the Town Center,” she said. “Our community deserves it.”
Bookings have jumped, Garcia said. The center made about $605,000 last year. It has already made about $700,000 so far this year, Garcia said.