Farmington Stays Path For Growth

FARMINGTON — On the average, Northwest Arkansas is adding about 32 new residents everyday and communities need to be friendly, safe and welcoming to these new residents to continue to grow, according to Mike Malone, executive director of Northwest Arkansas Council.

Many elements go into making a community great and Farmington already has most of those elements, said Malone, guest speaker for Farmington Area Chamber of Commerce annual spring banquet April 11.

Statistics show about 48 percent of Farmington residents have moved here from somewhere else, Malone said. In Northwest Arkansas, 56 percent are move-ins, either from another state, country or territory.

People move to this area for many reasons: to be closer to family, a job, education, to retire, outdoor recreation life and to live in what is considered a fairly safe area.

Another consideration for cities, Malone said, is to meet needs of the generation called “millennials,” those around 20 years of age up to about 35 years of age.

These are young professionals, Malone said, and they say they are looking for experiences in life, such as outdoor recreation, riding on bike trails, traveling.

“When I graduated from college, I was looking for a job so I could save for retirement,” he said. “They are saying they work to make money so they can have these experiences.”

Young professionals bring enthusiasm to the workforce and have many work years ahead of them.

To be attractive to this age group, Malone said cities have to offer options for residential housing, recreation, schools and even transportation. Many of them want public transportation or the ability to get to work on bikes, not just riding bikes for recreation.

Some are not interested in the typical single-family home with trees. They want condos or more modern apartment life.

“To be a community and region appealing to people who move here from different backgrounds, we have to give people options,” he said.

Malone said Farmington’s one drawback is that it does not have a town square or a central gathering place.

This is important to a community and he said he knows people in the community are discussing ways to meet this need.

“The future is really bright here,” Malone told those gathered at the banquet.

“Farmington is close to the I-49 corridor.

“We love seeing it grow and we love helping you. Farmington is a great city with a lot of great momentum.”

Malone