LETTER EDITOR TO THE
Bella Vista is growing
In response to Mike Kane’s letter to the editor
in the Jan. 8 Weekly Vista.
Mike is right on one thing, Cooper Communities Inc. has been extremely neglectful in keeping its office space up at Town Center. It has also apparently been very unresponsive to the several hotel developers we’ve heard
have shown interest in building a hotel at Town Center.
To criticize Cooper Communities for not creating more commercial space could be a little unfair, however. It could not have done much commercial development along Highway 71 because the area is primarily a flood plain.
Cooper Communities did, in some cases, promise more than willing to give as it developed Bella Vista. For instance, it never came through with the indoor pool and workout center I heard was proposed on our east side. But let’s don’t blame the POA for Cooper’s
transgressions. Just in the past few years with Tom Judson at the helm, the POA has renovated the
Country Club, renovated Lake Point, updated Metfield’s golf shop and
workout area, renovated and expanded the fitness center at Branchwood, developed a beautiful beach for families at Lake Avalon, paved a walking trail at Branchwood, and expanded and improved the RV park at Blowing Springs. We now have two fantastic dining options, Lake Point and the BV Grill at Country Club. You can’t beat either one for
dining at a restaurant with reasonably priced food and incredible views.
And, Mr. Kane apparently is uninformed about building in Bella Vista. Bella Vista is experiencing a building boom since the recession is now over. People are inquiring about
Bella Vista and moving here from out of state. He obviously has not seen the quarterly “newcomers” orientation numbers at the Country Club over the past year.
As chairperson for the Bella Vista Ambassadors, I have personably interviewed well over a hundred prospective residents considering Bella Vista as their next home, and I can tell you very few of them asked about shopping and chain restaurants. They have been attracted here by our amenities. They are asking about golfing, boating, fishing, trails, gun ranges, social activities and our clubs. You cannot compare Bella Vista to Cherokee Village. Cherokee Village is not a bad place to live, but it is located on the way to nowhere, has no regional airport close, no interstate highway near it and no major employers like northwest Arkansas. Bella Vista is a great place to live with good shopping reasonably close and will continue to thrive as long as we take care of our amenities and each other.
I would also like to see more retail in Bella Vista, but that now falls under the responsibility of the city of Bella Vista, not the POA. Ralph Patterson Bella Vista