Bentonville, Arkansas

[UrbanArkie]

I would like to see a map of Walton properties in Benton County. Including Offices/Retail/Philanthropy.

[KJW]

I would like to see a map of Walton properties in Benton County. Including Offices/Retail/Philanthropy.

 

Comreguy?   

[bubba72704]

go to benton county website.  Go to GIS maps.  Search by owner name.  Probably the only way to get to this.  

[bubba72704]

Maybe I missed this -- is it common knowledge that the old Clarion on Rainbow Curve is going to become a Four Points by Sheraton this fall?   http://www.starwoodhotels.com/fourpoints/directory/new-hotels/all/detail.html?language=en_US

[twin_number2]

That's correct, they've been working on it a while now.

[KJW]

Centerton Neighborhood Market opens tomorrow. 6/18

 

Went and snapped this photo right after making a visit to the new Centerton NHM.  Yesterday it was that business...Monday, ground will officially be broken for the new Bentonville West High School, which many have been waiting to see built.  There are still a few outbuildings and the grove of trees left for the farmstead which once stood there...at the right of the picture is the trailer set up for the construction site.:

 

[twin_number2]

Anyone know what restaurant being built next to burger king in bentonville?

looks like Popeyes or Hardee's, i can't confirm that though.

[bkern1989]

I haven't been by there recently, but a Hardee's would be nice.  

[UrbanArkie]

Popeyes is most likely as in their local stores there is a statement of future openings in the area.

[KJW]

Fascinating fact about Bentonville that I think is appropriate because this falls under "public utilities" (for another city...namely, our friendly neighbor to the west, Tulsa (skyline below)), and I think it will be interesting for NWA "Urban Planeteers" who don't know about it:

 

It's appropriate that the Arkansas River is at the bottom of this picture.  How many of you knew that, in spite of that River's presence within the city, for a period of no less than 87 years the and now "a" primary source of the City of Tulsa's/Tulsa metro's drinking water begins from a small spring located two blocks inside the west boundary of the Bentonville School District, on property with a Bentonville mailing address?

 

This link on the City of Tulsa's web site talks about the Eucha and Spavinaw watersheds and their importance to Tulsa.  At the beginning of last century when Tulsa was becoming the (then, before Houston assumed the monicker) "Oil capital of the world", the city tried to get water from the mineral-laden-out-of-Kansas Arkansas River (ever driven between Wichita and Lamar, CO, across Kansas by Dodge City and Garden City, seeing how scruffy and muddy the Ar-KANSAS River looks there?) but residents ended up with water the color of chocolate syrup which left silt and minnows in their bathtubs.

 

After a lot of debate, the Spavinaw Creek/River in east Oklahoma was decided as a suitable source coming out of the Ozarks from the east and flowing into the Grand River.  First, Spavinaw lake was created (literally one school district length west of Gravette, AR) in Mayes County, two counties east of Tulsa, in 1927, with a flowline laid to Tulsa.  In the 50s as Tulsa grew, a second reservoir, Lake Eucha, was created in Delaware County only 8 miles west of the Arkansas line.  One can see the Spavinaw Lake pumping station driving from Pryor, OK to Gravette...it's marked "City of Tulsa" in big letters as plainly as if it were within that city's limits, and I'm guessing any facility at Lake Eucha just minutes away from Arkansas carries that same insignia.  The Spavinaw was Tulsa's primary water source for 50 years.  It should be noted that in 1977 a third lake source, by far the largest, for the Tulsa Water Supply was commissioned, Lake Oologah out of an Oklahoma/Kansas watershed.  However, the latter lake's water come from an area where many oil wells have been abandoned and not always properly capped, which is an issue not faced by the Eucha/Spavinaw system.  Oologah, Eucha and Spavinaw lakes are the Tulsa city and metro area's primary water sources to this very day.

 

But what's fascinating is that the headwaters of the main branch of the Spavinaw River (which is quite picturesque as it meanders west through Benton County) from which Eucha and Spavinaw Lakes originate, originate theselves from a little spring at the New Heights Christian School off C.P. Rakes Road in Bentonville, about 1 - 1 1/2 miles northwest of where the new Bentonville West high school is being built.  You can see the spring and headwaters in this photo gallery on the New Heights web site, along with bridges and little structures they've built at the school alongside the creek.  Yep, when an unusually heavy rain happens the wooden bridge is at risk, but this is a place where a LOT of kids (including my daughter, an NHCS alumni) have been helped over the years.

 

(Pooled water at the spring of the Spavinaw Creek/River, which emanates from the little stone structure at the center of the picture built by Mr. Smith of NHCS and his son to keep bugs and other creatures from drowning and collecting at the spring.)

 

And it's amazing that given our metro growth (501,000 in NWA metro officially today) that we're so abundantly blessed with natural resources that we've supplied an out-of-state city, one of the biggest in our nation, with most or much of its water for nearly a century.  In a way, this little spring is emblematic of so much that's come out of Arkansas recently...it emerges from the serenity of the state so quietly and unheralded that one has absolutely no idea of how significant it becomes on down the line...

 

Back to the main stuff now.

Edited July 9, 2014 by KJW

[wmr]

Nice little video of Bentonville.

 

http://adaircreative.com/bentonville/

[burnz34]

Whats going up next to world gym on J street? I saw a huge crane, must be something big.

[comreguy]

Whats going up next to world gym on J street? I saw a huge crane, must be something big.

Industrial warehouse bldg

[krt479]

HGTV's House Hunter's episode will air on August 17th.  It'll be interesting to see how they portray our town.

 

http://www.hgtv.com/house-hunters/cool-vs-classic-in-small-town-arkansas/index.html

[bubba72704]

Maybe this is old news and I just missed it, but I'll share anyway.  It looks like a company called NWA FOOD HUB LLC bought the old Kraft Foods plant in downtown Bentonville back in May for about $1.4M.  This is the same NWA FOOD HUB that bought the old Tyson plant that's right around the corner a couple years ago.  I did a few website searches and figured out that the mailing address for this LLC is the same mailing address for a lot of the Walton Family's nonprofits.  BTW, Walmart owns the 10 acres between the two plants.  All of this land has frontage on the soon-to-be expanded SW 8th Street, and is within a mile of downtown Bentonville, and is within the recently expanded Bentonville Arts and Entertainment district.  Anyone care to speculate whether this could be the site of the upcoming WAC Performing Arts Center?  

[KJW]

Bubba, that would be interesting.  It's right between 8th and Central, that land is.

 

Man, more subdivisions that have lain fallow are coming to life with the new Bennie West High School being built.  There are 5 or more homes under construction in the Tuscany subdivision (north Centerton southwest of Tallamoore), which had about 7 homes built around 2006 then had everything stop.  

[comreguy]

Maybe this is old news and I just missed it, but I'll share anyway.  It looks like a company called NWA FOOD HUB LLC bought the old Kraft Foods plant in downtown Bentonville back in May for about $1.4M.  This is the same NWA FOOD HUB that bought the old Tyson plant that's right around the corner a couple years ago.  I did a few website searches and figured out that the mailing address for this LLC is the same mailing address for a lot of the Walton Family's nonprofits.  BTW, Walmart owns the 10 acres between the two plants.  All of this land has frontage on the soon-to-be expanded SW 8th Street, and is within a mile of downtown Bentonville, and is within the recently expanded Bentonville Arts and Entertainment district.  Anyone care to speculate whether this could be the site of the upcoming WAC Performing Arts Center?  

Still think it goes on the fairgrounds...

[krt479]

This is big news for downtown.  

 

http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2014/jul/23/bentonville-council-approves-5-2-millio/

[KJW]

Maybe this is old news and I just missed it, but I'll share anyway.  It looks like a company called NWA FOOD HUB LLC bought the old Kraft Foods plant in downtown Bentonville back in May for about $1.4M.  This is the same NWA FOOD HUB that bought the old Tyson plant that's right around the corner a couple years ago.  I did a few website searches and figured out that the mailing address for this LLC is the same mailing address for a lot of the Walton Family's nonprofits.  BTW, Walmart owns the 10 acres between the two plants.  All of this land has frontage on the soon-to-be expanded SW 8th Street, and is within a mile of downtown Bentonville, and is within the recently expanded Bentonville Arts and Entertainment district.  Anyone care to speculate whether this could be the site of the upcoming WAC Performing Arts Center?  

 

NWACC (sidebar story): http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2014/jul/27/northwest-arkansas-community-college-to/

 

 

 

The NorthWest Arkansas Community College board voted to allow college administrators to move the culinary arts and hospitality management program. The college will negotiate moving the program to a former Tyson Foods plant at 801 S.E. Eighth St. in Bentonville. The program is now at the Center for Nonprofits in Rogers and is out of space, said Evelyn Jorgenson, college president. The move isn’t expected to happen for at least another year, Jorgenson said.

Edited July 27, 2014 by KJW

[bkern1989]

Everything at the Family Dollar in Centerton is on sale since the store is "moving" and now I read that Dollar Tree has officially purchased Family Dollar.  Anyone think that that certain Family Dollar will change to a Dollar Tree?  A lot of what Dollar Tree carries isn't good quality, but they've also got a lot of items that are worth spending $1 for.  

[wmr]

That is interesting about the culinary school.  The NWA Food Hub name makes me wonder, are the Waltons establishing another cultural amenity in the form of some kind of restaurant/cuisine incubation hub?  Perhaps the culinary school will anchor a restaurant incubator or something like that?  Just a thought.  Is that even a thing?

[UrbanArkie]

Dollar Tree stated that the Family Dollar brand will continue.

That said, I doubt Dollar Tree would have incentive to move into a dark Family Dollar, as even the standalone sites are typically leased.

The site owner would probably like to relish the thought though.

[KJW]

New NHM approved for Bentonville, east side of N. Walton between 15th and 14th.  That's awfully close to the new Harp's.  I was told by a Bentonville businesswoman that there are going to be a lot of changes in this area coming, and to keep an eye on it.

 

http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2014/aug/06/zoning-approved-for-bentonville-neighbo/

Edited August 6, 2014 by KJW

[TRB]

Harp's had been acting as their advance location scouting service.

[Mith242]

Harp's had been acting as their advance location scouting service.

 

I'm sure they do similar stuff to other competitors outside of NWA as well.  But I don't think it was hard to see that Bentonville store for Harps was pretty successful.  No way they were just going to sit back and let them have too much success without some competition.  But they really do seem to like moving as close as they can to any competitor's store.