Local Real Estate holding steady against National trend

[bigboyz05]

Texarkana has seen steady growth commercially and residentially even though cities across the nation have seen their growth cool considerably. Read more at:

http://www.texarkanagazette.com/articles/2.../business01.txt

[mcheiss]

It's good to see that you guys haven't bursted your bubble. It looks like in NWA it's on the verge of being popped.

[bigboyz05]

It's good to see that you guys haven't bursted your bubble. It looks like in NWA it's on the verge of being popped.

I know your growth has been so phenomenal! How much longer do you think it will last? I wish we had the same kind of growth you guys have because then we'd have even more job opportunities.

[mcheiss]

^

Hard to tell. I'm not sure how much longer companies are going to continue opening up offices here. I've been told that Vendors for Wal-Mart are going to continue making up the bulk of the growth. Chinese and European Vendors have yet to set presence in NWA, and it's said that they will make several thousand jobs in the area. There's plenty of other job factors at stake as well. If I had to guess, current growth rates will probably occur for the next 8 to 10 years, and then taper off a bit to the same growth rate as the Little Rock area for the next 25 or so years.

[bigboyz05]

It looks like NWA has a very bright future ahead of it. Texarkana's growth is picking up but I wish it would grow faster.

[mcheiss]

Which side is growing more? The Arkansas Side or Texas Side?

[bigboyz05]

The Texas side has always grown faster than the Arkansas side but lately there has been more and more interest in the Arkansas side. The new power plant to be built will generate 1,400 jobs. Mainly construction and about 140 permanent positions once the facility. SRT Trucking and the new arena/sports complex are to be built on the Arkansas side. The mayor said many new and exciting developments will be coming to the Arkansas side and I can't tell you how excited I am about that.

[dimebag1980]

The Texas side has always grown faster than the Arkansas side but lately there has been more and more interest in the Arkansas side. The new power plant to be built will generate 1,400 jobs. Mainly construction and about 140 permanent positions once the facility. SRT Trucking and the new arena/sports complex are to be built on the Arkansas side. The mayor said many new and exciting developments will be coming to the Arkansas side and I can't tell you how excited I am about that.

The Arkansas side is doing great, Darius, no doubt. A few weeks ago when I was up there, my wife and I both noticed how much Arkansas Blvd has changed, especially in the area around Beacon Point, where we used to live. Just across the side street from the Super Wal-Mart there used to be an old house on quite a bit of land. No business was going to build on that site because of the expense of bringing it up to grade and building tne proper drainage system. That land stayed empty for years, and now we see that Bank of the Ozarks has built a very impressive branch location there. That really solidified within me the economic strength coming to the Arkansas side, because before now NO one was willing to invest in that property. It was going to be VERY expensive to build on... but now a nice bank sits there, and that bank's investment will undoubtedly be worth it for them in the end.

[bigboyz05]

I've heard that if Texarkana's growth keeps up it may be the size Shreveport currently is in 15 to 20 years. That would be cool if that happened.