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[chittlins]

I'm sure that SDC loves that NWA keeps growing at around 2% every year. Some stats were released this week and actually caught some folks off guard  in just how much it's growing.

Some numbers:

The urbanized area of NWA is now just under 300,000 (that's not MSA area which is larger). NWA will now become a Transportation Management Area with more control over how federal funds for transportation are used in the area.

Forbes Magazine ranked the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers area as the second-best area in the United States for recovery from the current United States recession.

Now, that's for 2012. Home sales in 2013 is really taking off again, some are saying you may see total numbers like those before the 08 recession. I've been urged to apply to serve on our planning commission here in Fayetteville but I just don't have the time. But, my friend is the Chair right now and he's seeing subdivision plats coming up again in agenda meetings.

Add the Ft. Smith area into the mix and  you now have 730,000 from one end of the I-540 corridor

I don't know the growth for the Springfield area but it's MSA was around 470,000 for 2010.

As you can see, SDC is enjoying an increasing next door base to pull from in addition to the tourism aspect. This is becoming a home park as much as a tourist destination. You likely see this effect in the increases in attendance during Spring Break and why it opened March 15.

This is great news for our SDC's future.

[Junior]

If  you want to see what every town square should look like...with shopfronts all rented with unique shopping, restaurants, a museum, a courthouse, a nice little park, just come on down to NW Arkansas and visit Bentonville. Rogers and Fayetteville have nice downtowns, too, but Bentonville has put a huge amount of money into infrastructure because of Crystal Bridges Museum. Also, the new 21C Hotel opened just off the Bentonville square, and it has it's own art gallery as well. I reccomend Flying Fish for Gulf Coast Style seafood, or Table Mesa for unique American and Southwest Style food, and it has a nice bar.     Oh yeah, come on over to my hometown of Pea Ridge and visit Pea Ridge National Military Park. It's a "must see" stop as well!

[chittlins]

If  you want to see what every town square should look like...with shopfronts all rented with unique shopping, restaurants, a museum, a courthouse, a nice little park, just come on down to NW Arkansas and visit Bentonville. Rogers and Fayetteville have nice downtowns, too, but Bentonville has put a huge amount of money into infrastructure because of Crystal Bridges Museum. Also, the new 21C Hotel opened just off the Bentonville square, and it has it's own art gallery as well. I reccomend Flying Fish for Gulf Coast Style seafood, or Table Mesa for unique American and Southwest Style food, and it has a nice bar.     Oh yeah, come on over to my hometown of Pea Ridge and visit Pea Ridge National Military Park. It's a "must see" stop as well!

Fayetteville's is every bit as nice as Bentonville's, but I digress. The parks dept. in Bentonville is headed up by a childhood friend from Marked Tree, from where I grew up between a rice patty and a cotton patch.

Table Mesa is also in Fayetteville on Dickson now. As time goes by, most all successful things are eventually are going to have a north and south location.

Junior, I'm waiting to see what the Walmart folks pull out their tails for the Neighborhood Market that's going to go where the Harps was once  in downtown Bentonville.  It's supposed to be three to four stories with office space above the store and a parking deck in the rear. I know their folks have done a couple of new urbanism stores in the DC area and Boston. But they were the 80,000 square ft. store kind not 35,000 sq. ft. kind. My brother in law used to work in their store planning office and he always has neat stories to tell about Sam and their formula stores and towns finally starting min design standards in the late 80's and early 90's.

Fayetteville has over 200 million dollars in new student housing developments with a couple of large ones still to come. The Modus outfit are doing then right and the others are ok and hopefully it'll get the kids out of residential areas. The attendance goal for the U of A now is 28,000. To put that into perspective, in the mid 90's when the boom actually started, it was just shy of 15,000.

[Gilligan]

If  you want to see what every town square should look like...with shopfronts all rented with unique shopping, restaurants, a museum, a courthouse, a nice little park, just come on down to NW Arkansas and visit Bentonville. Rogers and Fayetteville have nice downtowns, too, but Bentonville has put a huge amount of money into infrastructure because of Crystal Bridges Museum. Also, the new 21C Hotel opened just off the Bentonville square, and it has it's own art gallery as well. I reccomend Flying Fish for Gulf Coast Style seafood, or Table Mesa for unique American and Southwest Style food, and it has a nice bar.     Oh yeah, come on over to my hometown of Pea Ridge and visit Pea Ridge National Military Park. It's a "must see" stop as well!

Junior, you paint a great picture.  We will be there in July to visit the museum and check out the area.  We've been wanting to do this for a couple of years, but something always gets in the way. 

[chittlins]

If  you want to see what every town square should look like...with shopfronts all rented with unique shopping, restaurants, a museum, a courthouse, a nice little park, just come on down to NW Arkansas and visit Bentonville. Rogers and Fayetteville have nice downtowns, too, but Bentonville has put a huge amount of money into infrastructure because of Crystal Bridges Museum. Also, the new 21C Hotel opened just off the Bentonville square, and it has it's own art gallery as well. I reccomend Flying Fish for Gulf Coast Style seafood, or Table Mesa for unique American and Southwest Style food, and it has a nice bar.     Oh yeah, come on over to my hometown of Pea Ridge and visit Pea Ridge National Military Park. It's a "must see" stop as well!

Junior, you paint a great picture.  We will be there in July to visit the museum and check out the area.  We've been wanting to do this for a couple of years, but something always gets in the way. 

You are going to miss the Rockwell exhibit.

[Gilligan]

If  you want to see what every town square should look like...with shopfronts all rented with unique shopping, restaurants, a museum, a courthouse, a nice little park, just come on down to NW Arkansas and visit Bentonville. Rogers and Fayetteville have nice downtowns, too, but Bentonville has put a huge amount of money into infrastructure because of Crystal Bridges Museum. Also, the new 21C Hotel opened just off the Bentonville square, and it has it's own art gallery as well. I reccomend Flying Fish for Gulf Coast Style seafood, or Table Mesa for unique American and Southwest Style food, and it has a nice bar.     Oh yeah, come on over to my hometown of Pea Ridge and visit Pea Ridge National Military Park. It's a "must see" stop as well!

Junior, you paint a great picture.  We will be there in July to visit the museum and check out the area.  We've been wanting to do this for a couple of years, but something always gets in the way. 

You are going to miss the Rockwell exhibit.

Yup, and that's a bummer!  I just looked it up.  That would be worth seeing! 

[Junior]

I forgot to mention the wonderful trails system in the area. You can go from Bentonville southward on a series of walking/bike trails all the way to Fayetteville. One of the best systems in the nation! And yes, the Fayetteville downtown is very nice...if you like nightlife and don't mind elbowing your way around college kids, Dickson Street has a lively bar/club scene with great music. Be sure to see Pinnacle Mall at Rogers, Arvest Stadium at Springdale (home of the Arkansas Naturals) and War Eagle Mill and Beaver Lake are great, too. Remember, from this area it is only 45 minutes to Eureka Springs, and about an hour and a half to two hours to Branson. So much to see and do in one small geographic area. Plan an extra long vacation, and ya'll come on down to see us, hear?

[DollarCityBoy]

I actually work for Arkansas Parks & Tourism.

If you would like me to send you a Vacation Kit or a more specific brochure on an attaction in our great state, just PM me your address and what you would like to receive.

[chittlins]

Some new numbers, NWA will officially surpass 500,000 by late summer. The stats are showing that Benton and Washington Counties are growing at a clip of 23 people a day.     

[Junior]

I have been to the "model" Wal-Mart Supercenter at Pleasant Grove Road in Rogers...I swear early one morning about 7:15, I saw Wal-Mart management and vendors breeding like cockroaches under the clothing racks...that would have to account for at least 2,057 new arrivals to the area since that sighting in 2012! LOL!    Come on up and get a job in this area...most regular jobs will get ya about $18-$24,000 per year, just enough to barely hang on...but you will make enough to make weekly contributions to the Wal-Mart billions at any of a number of local "model" stores....supercenters, expresses, neighborhood markets, Sam's Club, and even a little tiny Wal-Mart to service the needs of the students at UA/Fayetteville!

[chittlins]

I have been to the "model" Wal-Mart Supercenter at Pleasant Grove Road in Rogers...I swear early one morning about 7:15, I saw Wal-Mart management and vendors breeding like cockroaches under the clothing racks...that would have to account for at least 2,057 new arrivals to the area since that sighting in 2012! LOL!    Come on up and get a job in this area...most regular jobs will get ya about $18-$24,000 per year, just enough to barely hang on...but you will make enough to make weekly contributions to the Wal-Mart billions at any of a number of local "model" stores....supercenters, expresses, neighborhood markets, Sam's Club, and even a little tiny Wal-Mart to service the needs of the students at UA/Fayetteville!

Junior, that's a bit misleading. Read this, also note that Jonesboro is a draw area for SDC, but being from NEA I can tell you lot's of Jonesboogie's growth is simply folks from surrounding delta towns moving there instead of driving 20 to 40 minutes to and from work.

NW Arkansas Fourth In Nation In Job Growth; Jonesboro Eleventh



By Steve Brawner

January 28th, 2014

The Northwest Arkansas metropolitan statistical area ranked fourth in nonfarm job growth in the nation in 2013, according to preliminary information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday. Or 11th, depending on how you look at it.

The Northwest Arkansas region averaged 9,580 more jobs in a typical month in 2013 over the same month in 2012, a "moving average" growth rate of 4.56 percent. That's according to information aggregated by Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business and shared Tuesday by the Northwest Arkansas Council. The Bureau ranked 383 metropolitan areas reporting out of 428 total.

The region includes Washington, Benton, and Madison counties in Arkansas and McDonald County in Missouri.

However, Northwest Arkansas ranked 11th with its year-end ranking comparing the end of December 2013 with the end of December 2012. The region grew by 8,900 jobs over that time period.

Jonesboro's moving average ranked 11th in the country with a 3.69 percent growth rate after adding an average of about 1,880 jobs. Jonesboro ranked 14th comparing December 2013 to December 2012.

Other Arkansas areas ranked as follows in the moving average category: Fort Smith, 110th with a 1.69 percent job growth rate; Little Rock-North Little Rock, 158th with a 1.28 percent growth rate; Hot Springs, 326th after shrinking .22 percent; Pine Bluff, 370th after shrinking 1.74 percent.

Comparing December 31sts, Fort Smith ranked much better at 34th, while Little Rock ranked 191st, Hot Springs ranked 342nd, and Pine Bluff ranked 343rd.

Nationally, Midland, Tex., ranked first in moving averages thanks to a 6.15 percent job growth rate, followed by Odessa, Tex., which grew 5.71 percent. Winchester, Va., was third with a 4.62 percent increase.

Over the first 11 months of 2013, the Northwest Arkansas area added 1,299 jobs in health care and social assistance with an average salary of $48,430; 1,181 jobs in management of companies and enterprises with an average salary of $125,393; and 681 jobs in retail trade with an average salary of $27,763.

Mike Harvey, Northwest Arkansas Council chief operating officer, said the job growth has been "broad-based." The Northwest Arkansas Council is a coordinating economic and community development nonprofit agency.

Harvey said the one area that could be improved is manufacturing, where the area gained 86 jobs after losing 8,570 manufacturing jobs over approximately the last 12 years. "To say we pulled off a year where we held our own is pretty exciting to me at this point," he said.

Looking back over those 12 years, the area gained 58,938 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those include 10,093 jobs in health care and social assistance, and 9,252 business management jobs.

According to the Council, the region has ranked in the top 20 in percentage growth rate seven times since 1991.
- See more at: http://talkbusiness.net/2014/01/nw-arkansas-fourth-nation-job-growth-jonesboro-eleventh/#sthash.ix69IC3x.dpuf

[chittlins]

Ft. Smith got this news yesterday, but lost out on a Remington Arms facility to Alabama:


$58 Million Medical School Planned For Chaffee Crossing



By Michael Tilley

February 18th, 2014


MTILLEY@THECITYWIRE.COM

58 0

 

Fort Smith could soon be home to Arkansas' first osteopathic medical school and one of just 31 in the U.S., thanks to a more than $58 million investment from the Fort Smith Regional Healthcare Foundation (FSRHF) and a grant of 200 acres from the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority (FCRA).

Officials with the FSRHF, the FCRA and area cities made the announcement during a Tuesday (Feb. 18) afternoon press conference at the River Valley Nature Center at Chaffee Crossing.

The possibility of such a medical school is estimated to have a $100 million annual economic impact on the region.

FSRHF Chairman Kyle Parker told The City Wire that a fully operational school would serve about 600 students, and employ around 65 (full-time equivalent jobs) with an average salary of $103,000. That impact does not include adjunct professors that will be needed for the school, he said.

The school is targeted to accept its first cohort of students in the fall of 2017.

PROJECT HISTORY
Revenue from the 2009 purchase of Fort Smith-based Sparks Health System could be used to help build and operate the medical school. When Naples, Fla.-based Health Management Associates (HMA) acquired Sparks in a deal valued at $138 million, part of the money was used to create the Fort Smith Regional Healthcare Foundation.

Foundation initiatives include supporting scholarships for individuals seeking advanced medical training, the Community Dental Clinic in Fort Smith, health education programs in area schools, and other medical training options.

The osteopathy school plan has had early supporters. The Community Health Centers of Arkansas, which provides medical care in Arkansas' rural areas, supports the idea, according to Tom Webb, executive director of the FSRHF. Endorsements also have come from the Arkansas Osteopathic Medical Association (AOMA), the Arkansas Society of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP), and the Arkansas Osteopathic Foundation (AOF).

Osteopathic medicine, according to the American Osteopathic Association, the practice is "a complete system of medical care with a philosophy that combines the needs of the patient with the current practice of medicine, surgery and obstetrics; that emphasizes the interrelationship between structure and function; and that has an appreciation of the body's ability to heal itself."

RECENT MOVES
On Tuesday, the FSRHF Board of Trustees voted to move forward with the project and hire a CEO and chief academic officer for the school.

Tuesday afternoon, the FCRA approved providing the school 200 acres near Chad Colley Boulevard, with the land valued at $4 million.

Working with the Arkansas Osteopathic Medical Association (AOMA), the FSRHF has developed several partnerships with regional medical providers. According to the FSRHF statement issued Tuesday, Mercy Health System, Sparks Health System, Cooper Clinic, the Choctaw Nation Health Services Authority and Community Health Centers of Arkansas "have indicated their desire to play integral roles in the clinical rotations and residency education of the proposed college."

"The AOMA is extremely excited about the development of the proposed Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine to be located in Fort Smith," Dr. James Baker, president of the AOMA, said in the statement. "We will continue to develop, partner with, and support those providing state-wide resources to help advance the Fort Smith Regional Healthcare Foundation's mission of establishing the school."

THE PROJECT
In his remarks and media interview Tuesday afternoon, Parker said FSRHF Trustee Jim Walcott challenged the foundation to "move the needle" on the effort to "fill gaps in healthcare and provide care for the medically underserved regions in Arkansas and Oklahoma."

The result of Walcott's challenge could be a 200-acre campus built out in several phases. An initial layout drafted by Oklahoma City-based Crafton Tull shows the campus located immediately east of where a proposed third Fort Smith high school is located. The site is on both sides and just south of the Chad Colley Boulevard entrance into Chaffee Crossing. The plan calls for 87 acres on the west side of the boulevard and 113 acres on the east side.

The first phase of the medical school campus includes a 60,000-square foot building, several smaller buildings, a campus green, main entry, and a proposed pond. A second phase includes a "village green" area with more buildings.

Future development around the campus includes space for a medical office park and commercial and retail development.

FCRA Executive Director said the school is "highly compatible" with the Chaffee Crossing development goals.

"We are very excited to be a part of the plans to build this osteopathic medical university. Their plans dovetail nicely with our plans for this area. The wooded, open space, walkable-style campus is exactly what we want for Chaffee Crossing," Owen said in the statement.

THE NEED
There are 30 colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs), offering instruction at 40 locations in 28 states. There is not an osteopathy school in Arkansas, although Arkansas State University in Jonesboro is on its way to creating one. Twenty-four of the COMs are private; six are public. Should the development of an osteopathic school in Fort Smith happen, it would be a private, non-profit institution and not dependent on continuous public funds from the state.

Approximately 60% of practicing osteopathic physicians (DO) practice in the primary care specialties of family medicine, general internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology, according to information provided by the FSRHF.

Arkansas ranks 48th in physician accessibility in the United States. The western side of the state, including the Fort Smith region, has been identified as the most underserved area in Arkansas, according to the FSRHF.

"FSRHF was presented the opportunity to increase availability of care within medically underserved areas of the state by addressing the severe shortage of physicians through the development of a college," noted the FSRHF statement.

- See more at: http://talkbusiness.net/2014/02/58-million-medical-school-planned-chaffee-crossing/#sthash.PZSYU33N.dpuf

[qwed94]

well I admit, I just skimmed thru a long article like that.
However it does sound real nice that Arkansas might be getting such a place. I hope the very best to all of yuns.  As Ive mentioned before. While STL and "burbs" is basically shuttin down shop everywhere. Tis certainly nice to see a neighboring state pick up a bunch of business.

Chitlins, Keep us posted please.  Would be nice to see every Arkansas citizen workin.  (Well it would be nice to see every US citizen workin), but Arkansas is as good of place as any to start.

[chittlins]

I only yammer on about NWA here because outside of Springfield, it's the closest fixed market for SDC. It's success only bodes well for SDC. I don't think 25 years ago the management thought there would be over 500,000and growning in the corner of close by NWA.

[okiebluegrass]

My wife and I want to relocate to the SW MO or NWA area within the next few years. I am a telecommunications analyst and former COBOL programmer. What kind of job opportunities are there in these fields in that area?