Bentonville Quilt of Parks project to start next phase
BENTONVILLE — People visiting and working downtown will see development over the next few months that’s part of a plan to improve and connect city amenities.
David Wright, Bentonville parks director, said the city is set to start Phase 2A of its Quilt of Parks project in the second week of April after the completion of Phase 1. It will encompass the downtown square, the Benton County Courthouse and the road between them — Northeast A Street from Northwest Second Street to East Central Avenue — before wrapping up in August.
The Quilt of Parks project is an effort to improve existing parks and plazas downtown by adding new green spaces, plazas and gardens, and stitching them all together in a cohesive, pedestrian-friendly way, according to the city.
Wright said Phase 2A will expand the city square’s green and programmable space — as well as seating — out into Northeast A Street while preserving the trees that are already there. It will also enhance the landscaping in front of the courthouse.
The revamped square will be the “heartbeat” of the planned A Street Promenade, a brick-lined, pedestrian-only area that will run about a quarter-mile through A Street from Northeast Third Street to Southeast Second Street, he said.
The end result will tie multiple downtown public spaces together: Lawrence Plaza, the square, Town Branch Park, Dave Peel Park, a planned addition of Dave Peel Park formerly known as the Bentonville Commons, and the Bentonville Green, an area of green space between the city’s Downtown Activity Center and City Hall.
“Really, the reason this becomes important is because as the use of our square in downtown has transformed over the last 15 years, it’s going to continue to transform as we move forward,” Wright said.
Phase 2A will give more space for cultural programming at the downtown square, according to Wright.
EVENTS WILL GO ON
Dana Schlagenhaft, executive director of the nonprofit Downtown Bentonville Inc., said via email Friday her group produces multiple events on the square throughout the year with support from the city, Visit Bentonville and other entities.
These include the Farmers Market and First Friday, both of which run from April through October.
Schlagenhaft said none of the events Downtown Bentonville Inc. has planned during Phase 2A will be canceled. However, some will have an “altered footprint” to avoid construction.
“We’ve worked closely with the city and construction companies to understand timelines and footprint changes,” she said.
Small businesses in the downtown area will face most of the challenges that will come with Phase 2A in the short term, she said. Downtown Bentonville Inc. is coordinating communication between everyone involved or impacted with the growth of downtown, including businesses, the city and construction crews.
Schlagenhaft said the new space Phase 2A will provide will allow Downtown Bentonville Inc. to shift its productions to a pedestrian-friendly area designed for events, as opposed to closing multiple streets for vendors, stages and food trucks.
Wright estimated half of the asphalt on Northeast A Street between Northwest Second Street and East Central Avenue will become green space through Phase 2A. The rest will be dedicated to either the A Street Promenade or landscaping.
Wright noted this part of the street will be closed to vehicular traffic forever.
“However, when it’s done around Labor Day, it will be spectacular,” he said. “It will be a great preview of what the rest of the street will look like several months later.”
Wright said the city will also start work on phases 2B and 2C in June and July, respectively. These will consist of elevated speed tables on East Central Avenue and Northwest Second Street across Northeast A Street — on either side of Phase 2A — that are meant to maintain the sense of priority for the pedestrians.
“The thought process is that when a car drives up onto this elevated speed table, they will feel like they are in the pedestrian space,” Wright said. “They will be driving through the A Street Promenade, so they will inherently slow down and make things safer for everybody around.”
Wright said traffic will be detoured around the square as 2B and 2C are being built. They will take about three weeks to a month to complete.
IMPACT ON COUNTY, BUSINESSES
Benton County Judge Barry Moehring said while the county and public will have to be patient during the construction for Phase 2A, it should have very little impact on operations at the county courthouse on Northeast A Street due to the facility’s main entrance being on East Central Avenue.
”The only potential impact that we can think of is noise, but we’ve been talking to the city and the contractor, and I am very confident we’ll work together on any issues that come up from noise,” Moehring said.
He said closing the entire front of the courthouse to vehicular traffic should make the facility more secure when construction is finished. He also thinks Phase 2A will be a “great enhancement” for county employees.
The city will take over the landscaping for the front of the courthouse from the county, according to Moehring.
Melissa Miller, a manager for Table Mesa Bistro on the downtown square, said she believes the project won’t impact her business any more than other developments already have, such as the ongoing construction of a hotel nearby. She also thinks the speed tables are “probably pretty necessary” given the frequency at which people speed around the square and the high number of pedestrians in the area, especially during the summer.
Miller also said there’s not much parking directly in front of her restaurant, where she feels traffic will be detoured away when the speed table on East Central Avenue is being installed.
“Most of the parking to be had on the square currently are the parking lots behind our restaurant over by Oven and Tap and the City Council building, as well as by Dave Peel Park, so I am hoping that even shutting down Central for three weeks to a month would still not impact us as much as we have been with the hotel construction,” Miller said.
The City Council in September approved a $15.58 million bid award to Flintco to construct the A Street Promenade.
The Walton Family Foundation offered the city a $16 million grant for the project, according to Wright. The foundation also provided a $1.2 million grant for design of the promenade, he said.
City voters in April 2021 passed a $266 million bond for capital projects and refinancing. Voters extended a 1-cent sales tax originally approved in 2003 to repay the bonds. The bond will pay for $32.75 million in park improvements.
Wright said the Walton grant will cover all elements of Phase 2, which the city expects to cost a total of about $3.3 million.
The city officially began construction on Phase 1 of the Quilt of Parks project in October, according to Wright.
He described it as an enhancement project in the Lawrence Plaza area, adding features such as seating with tables, art, lighting, landscaping and space for food trucks in what used to be green space by the ice rink/splash pad.