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Fort Smith, AR


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It is generally assumed that Wal-Mart causes other businesses to lose business and eventually go out of business. However, it appears to have had a positive impact on the east Rogers area and north Van Buren. Anybody have any predictions on how the new supercenter will impact north Ft. Smith and the area in general?
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  • 3 weeks later...

So we have a bit going on in fort smith right now

Hooters getting ready to open up...

Supercenter on the North side of town being built and a Target on the South side

New Condo development

US Marshal's Museum coming soon

Anyone think of other good things we have going on right now?

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Any idea what restaraunts are looking for land on Rogers? The restaraunt situation in Ft. Smith needs to improve drastically and its nice to hear of some possible new developments. And I hope they aren't just more of your low-end run of the mill fast food chains.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Here's an interesting article on the proposed casino.

http://www.swtimes.com/articles/2007/06/27...sday/news01.txt

People like David Purifoy, mentioned in this article, is EXACTLY what the problem is in Ft. Smith!

And I would love to see Ray Baker propose an alternative plan for the riverfront instead of just saying "There are many things we can do instead" all the time, yet not putting forth any effort to make it happen.

Edited by bchris02
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  • 3 weeks later...

Looks like the gambling supporters are going to try to go after Gov Beebe to get this casino. But I'm pretty sure he's already said he's not for it so I doubt this will help. I was a bit surprised they they claim 70% of the citizens in Ft Smith are in support of this. There was an editorial in one of the NWA papers today. This person was against the idea. They pointed out how this wouldn't solve all of Ft Smith's economic issues. Which I agree it wouldn't. But I still think it's a good idea. As I've said before, you aren't keeping people from gambling, you're just sending them across the state line to spend their money. And just like people going across the border to gamble, there's no way someone can tell me the 'negative aspects' of gambling are staying on the Oklahoma side of the border. Ft Smith is already feeling all the effects of a casino without getting any share because it's in the Oklahoma part of the suburbs. This person also says Ft Smith should be aiming to be another Austin, or Silicon Valley or Research Triangle of NC. While those are wonderful ideas let's be realistic, they are a bit unrealistic. With it's proximity to NWA if there's going to be a place that reproduces aspects of those areas I really think it will be NWA and not Ft Smith. Anyway all I'm saying is that people in Ft Smith are already gambling, I just think there should be option for them to do it inside the city limits and get a share of the revenue instead of sending all the money to Oklahoma.

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  • 2 weeks later...

According to an article in yesterday's Times Record, Fort Chaffee is making a bid to become a full time Army National Guard Reserve post. If successful, Fort Chaffee will become home to 3,000 soldiers on a year round basis. This would mean not only 3,000 more people in our community, but also their families living, shopping, dinning, etc in Fort Smith. The article says the economic impact would be greater than landing a Toyota plant.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Welcome all, I'm new here and had to register when I saw this thread.

I grew up in Fort Smith, attended UAFS, then graduated with a pre-law degree at Central Arkansas. In between, I traveled, and saw cities like San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C. After suffering a lot of personal troubles down in Conway, I felt that returning to Fort Smith would settle things down. Big mistake. I learned fairly quickly why I left. There is nothing here! No growth, no jobs, no culture, no singles scene worth looking into.... and that's only the tip of the iceberg. The only new things that occurred after I left were Hooters, Target (which was planned but never implemented for many years) and the Marshals museum; I've been to Hooters in other cities, Conway has had Target for at least 3 years and I find nothing exciting about a stack of old guns.

There is something fundamentally wrong with this town, which I think it's its chronic lack of culture, education and forward thinking, and it's choking it into an overgrown suburb of NWA. What Fort Smith could be, I've seen in other parts of the state. Fayetteville has a vibrant downtown, Little Rock has an enormously well-developed riverfront (you can actually get decent seats at the pub crawls down there, rather than uncomfortably standing shoulder-to-shoulder here), and you can see variations of both in their surrounding areas. Fort Smith, on the other hand, just continues to stagnate.

I have a pretty good job now, though after realizing that I'm pissing away my mid-twenties here, I decided to finally apply to law school next fall. I'm looking at Little Rock and Fayetteville, and if I do well enough on LSAT, I'll look elsewhere. In any case, I hope to leave and never look back. I hate this town with a passion, not because of what it is, but because of what it could be but will not.

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I guess I've been a bit surprised to see such strong opinions against the city. Not just from you from what seems everyone who has lived there. Seems a shame because Ft Smith seems to have potential. I've wondered if the people who do live there are willing to make some changes. But I'm not sure they are. I think it's proximity to NWA seems to have sealed it's fate. If NWA keeps booming seems like it could just end up becoming more of a bedroom community for those looking for some cheaper homes. I already know that there are a few people living down there and working up in NWA.

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The sad part is that I once heard a guy say that lots of people try to leave Fort Smith, but they always end up coming back. I nearly scoffed. But he's right. The town doesn't have enough to keep people, but it barely has enough to draw them back for whatever reason. I think it's where dreams and aspirations ultimately go to die, though. Which is why I'm doing what I can to leave for greener pastures.

People come down hard on Fort Smith because it really is wasting its potential every step of the way. I noticed that nearly all the TV broadcasters moved up to NWA after being headquartered here for so long. I know a guy who lives here but does the bulk of his work up in NWA for one of the broadcasters . It's not uncommon for him to come home after 7 or even 9 pm during the week.

I also heard that Toyota was once interested in building a plant here, but the city wanted nothing to do with it, like building utilities out to land in Fort Chaffee. Was that true? If it is, then Fort Smith really deserves whatever slow death comes to it.

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I also heard that Toyota was once interested in building a plant here, but the city wanted nothing to do with it, like building utilities out to land in Fort Chaffee. Was that true? If it is, then Fort Smith really deserves whatever slow death comes to it.
Edited by bchris02
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