The W in NWA?
Waltons make another big splash in region
It’s hard for anyone to spend time in Northwest Arkansas and not realize there’s a huge relationship between its communities and the Waltons.
No, not the 1970s TV show featuring John-Boy and a bevy of other family members living on a West Virginia mountain bearing the family’s name. We’d bet the Waltons of Arkansas have heard a few references to the show a few times in their lives.
There’s plenty bearing the Bentonville Waltons’ name or at least their fingerprints in this corner of the Natural State. Think Walton Arts Center, Walton School of Business and other academic and research pursuits at the University of Arkansas, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, The Momentary and the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine and Heartland Whole Health Institute. They’ve devoted hundreds of millions to the development of a robust system of trails and bike paths and bolstered outdoor recreation as an economic tool.
And that’s just the big, most visible ventures. Their philanthropy has also served as seed money for local cities to pursue major community projects and supported nonprofit groups making a difference in the region.
Beyond philanthropy, Walton family members have invested mightily in the region’s downtowns, from restaurants to renovated buildings.
Few imagined back in the early 1960s, when Sam Walton opened his first Walmart store in Rogers, just how wildly successful his style of retailing would be. Anyone who did envision Walton’s business achievements are probably pretty well off these days. Even they probably didn’t grasp what Walmart would become or that Walton’s family would accumulate such massive wealth they’re listed among the richest people in the world.
Maybe it’s uncouth to discuss such things. But we take notice of their wealth to be able to note this: It would have been easy enough for the descendants of Sam and Helen Walton to just take their money and leave Northwest Arkansas behind, if all that mattered was money and the luxuries it allows one to afford.
No, we’re not the Waltons’ PR firm. They employ plenty of professional assistance to wield their influence and to announce what they want when they want.
But last week in Northwest Arkansas’ continuing transformation driven by population growth and development, the Waltons yet again came front and center. Blue Crane, a company owned by Tom and Steuart Walton — grandsons of the Walmart founder — bought the majority of the land holdings of Cooper Communities Inc., the company that developed Bella Vista. The purchase included 2,700 acres of undeveloped land, including development rights, in Bella Vista and in Benton County.
What the future holds for those properties remains, at least publicly, a mystery. And mysteries like that are prone to worry some of the residents of Northwest Arkansas not named Walton. Consider the highly charged reaction when people living and working around the Buffalo River learned that Walton interests were exploring possible changes to the park’s national river designation. The response was immediate and filled with suspicion. Even with all their professional help, the execution of the issue by the Waltons created a tension unusual in their history of bolstering Northwest Arkansas.
Whether that was truly just an anomaly or whether they learned something from the experience, the handling of the big revelation involving the Bella Vista land has gone far more smoothly. About 500 residents attended a meetand-greet at the Bella Vista Country Club, where they heard Tom Walton speak and many got a chance to talk directly with him about their questions or concerns.
“I’m proud to be doing this work,” Tom Walton said during the meeting. “All of our work is really focused on making Northwest Arkansas the best version of itself.”
What’s more important is what residents had to say, and several said they felt their concerns were being heard. Though there are a lot of details still unknown, the experience suggested the future of the acreage would likely dovetail with the community’s vision.
Tom Walton said Blue
Crane will continue the conversation with Bella Vista residents and hopes to have more to share by the end of the year.
Bella Vista Mayor John Flynn spoke at the May 10 meeting and said he feels many people are “voting with their feet” by choosing to move to Bella Vista. The city is the third largest in Northwest Arkansas by population and largest by land area.
“There is no one, no person, no corporation in the entire world I would rather work with, and be part of this with, than these guys,” Mayor Flynn said at the meet-and-greet. “I couldn’t be happier about this. I think the future of Bella Vista is very bright.”
The Waltons deserve credit for using philanthropy and investment to bolster the place where Sam and Helen Walton set down roots and raised their kids. Being wealthy doesn’t automatically make one’s ideas better than anyone else’s, but a clear-eyed look around Northwest Arkansas provides pretty compelling evidence the region is a far, far better place because of the Walton influence.
What they’re doing in Bella Vista is definitely one of the biggest “stay tuned” stories of the year.