tim2462

A few more tenants released for the Alcoa Exchange in Benton & Bryant. The updated list: - Target - Kohl's - Old Navy - Shoe Carnival - Starbucks - Chili's - Kirkland's - Rue 21 - Cingular - The Mattress King Other tenants will be announced when they are finalized. Alcoa Exchange is scheduled to open in October. October is going to be a big month for retail in all of Central Arkansas. Applebee's opened up in Benton a few months back. Also, an IHOP is under construction in Benton. Lowe's is nearing completion in Bryant. With the new 6 lane interstate, the area is really taking off. There has been a lot of residential growth in the last few years, now the retail / restaurant sector is catching up.

I'm almost positive that LIT offers more than 1. I know they have Sprint WI-FI. I know there has to be more.

A very small percentage of any city is walkable as you have described. Cities have to be spread out, you can't pile everything up together for the sake of walking. I like having room to move and drive around. There are many places I could live in WLR that I could walk, but walking for me is for leisure, not for errands.

LOL There are way more stops than 3. I haven't looked at the route lately, but I see several stops on my daily commute. Yes, it is possible to walk just about anywhere you want to out there. There are sidewalks along every street, even the main ones. You may not want to walk, but you can. Who in their right mind would walk from the wal-mart on hwy 10 to best buy, even if they had a walkway above the area? Urban doesn't mean you can walk. Urban is clusters of developments and that certainly meets the requirements. Anway, I like driving my car where I need to go. Walking is good for you, but I prefer not to walk up and down the street in urban areas with groceries and anything else I may buy while out. The bus system is great for people that need it. Anyway, there are very few places in the US period that you can walk in urban areas. Even in places where you can, it would not be safe and wise to do so.

Actually, most never made it to the ballot. They got shot down due to "wording." However, this one passed that test and is headed for the ballot, as long as he gets his 80,000 signatures. I think it has a good chance of passing. Now, more than ever, people are realizing the amount of money we're losing to surrounding states. Also, it could help save some schools from closing. They're closing them and consolidating left and right.

Skirby: You complain about sprawl and say it's not urban, then you turn around and complain about lack of trees. Urban areas have fewer trees. That's one good thing about WLR, it's a good mix between urban and nature, lots of trees all around. That's why I take such offense at you dismissing that area as just sprawl.

Sprawl is still urban. There are sidewals along every route, it would be easy to walk in the area. There's also a bus route that runs quite extensively out there. Also, there are many urban areas around the nation that you can only get around by car or bus, some don't even have sidewalks. So, no matter your opinion of sprawl, it's still urban. You're always so negative. Lighten up.

Yeah, I was quite surprised that the old gateway store sat empty for so long. It's right there in the middle of everything, up on a big hill even above the surrounding area. Verizon picked a good spot, that's for sure. Another piece of property that baffles me is the lot at the corner of Kanis and Bowman that has been empty for so long. They did have a sign up touting some kind of development coming soon, but it didn't stay up long. Not sure what's going on with that. But, just down from it on Kanis, across from the BBB, there's a project being built called the Kanis Business Park. It's a long piece of property along Kanis. They have 1 building up, it looks like it's going to be some office buildings and maybe some commercial space as well. I'm also still amazed that they tore down the texaco store at the corner of Markham and Shackleford and built a car wash. They could've really put something there at that high visibility intersection, and they built a carwash. *Shakes Head* There is a lot of prime real estate still available in West Little Rock. It'll be interesting in coming years watching the area fill in. West Little Rock is truly a beautiful area. The great mix of hills and low lying mountains, with the urban setting is a sight to behold. Little Rock, with it's landscape and terrain, hold so much potential. We might not be the biggest, most urban place, but definitely one of the most scenic urban cities I've seen. I know a lot of the people from New Orleans that moved here said they never knew Little Rock was this urban, and certainly didn't know it was this beautiful.

All apartments don't end up ghetto. If the owner takes care of them and remodels them every 5-10 years, they'd be good as new. But, most do not do that.

I did put at the beginning From Arkansas Business: However, I copied too much and deleted it to start over. I didn't know I had deleted that.

From Arkansas Business: Across the river, in the capital city, there could be even more Wal-Mart shuffling. We told you last November that Shackleford Crossing, the 97-acre retail and office development on the site of the now-abandoned Summit Mall project, would be anchored by a Wal-Mart Supercenter. We touched base with the developer, Steve Clary, chairman and CEO of Little Rock

Atleast there are more upscale apartments going up out there to offset those awful lindsey apts.

A friend of mine knows a contractor, and he says that bids are being accepted for a Wal*Mart SuperCenter and a Home Depot to be built in Maumelle. Not much info is available, since it's in the beginning stages. Also, a new major arterial is planned, but no info on that at this time either. Maybe something official will come out on all of this soon.

Maumelle has a lot of large employers. There's a big industrial park with a huge Target distribution center. There's been a lot of development there due to the population increase, retail just needs to catch up. There are a lot of things planned. I need to get over there and find out some info. They desperately need a wal-mart supercenter. They have to drive all the way to I430, then up to Cantrell/hwy 10, then another 6 miles out to the nearest supercenter. Another thing, they could really use a bridge across the Arkansas River into West Little Rock, to ease traffic and keep everyone from having to drive all the way out to 430. Maumelle is mostly made up of people moving there from out of state. There's a popular saying "If you live in Maumelle, chances are, you aren't from Arkansas." That's an exaggeration though. But, not many people move there from Little Rock. It's mostly natives and people from out of state.

There is a special census being conducted in Maumelle right now. I had no idea one was even scheduled. KTHV reported a few days ago on it. That's the first report of it. In 2000, the census count was just over 10,000...the current estimate is around 14,000...the city believes the population to be well over 15,000, possibly 17,000. They are doing this for the same reason as other cities in the state...more turnback funds.

I posted last week about a hooters that is being built in NLR. Well, I noticed another restaurant that has actually already opened just across the freeway, behind target. Texas Roadhouse...not sure how long it's been open, but it's very recent. It's right beside the Pizza Hut, on the access road (Jacksonville Blvd) I heard a while back that one was planned, if the city would improve that road, but never heard anything else about it. Now, it's open. Also, a Montana Grill is about to open on Landers Road, right beside the Hooters.

We all know about all of the development happening along E. McCain. That area has seen a real explosion in the last year. Also, construction on the new ballpark is about to begin. There are several projects planned around it. I'm sure there will be many more announced as the year goes by. I couldn't find a thread on North Little Rock, so I thought I'd start one to keep up with all that is going on there.

Interesting. I have never been to his homecoming in Foreman, but I saw him in concert at a rodeo in Crossett when I was a teen. It's hard to believe he's moving it from Foreman, but I do see his reasoning. I may go this year, I'd like to see him again, as well as 3 Doors Down.

They did have a good gay club there...not sure if it's still there or not.

I'm one of the ones that wish the Summit Mall would've been built. It would've been over 1,000,000 sq. ft; we don't have any large malls. They city is spreading west, there's nothing that can be done to stop that. There are many ways for midtown to hold its own. We have to remember that Dillard's is building its flagship store on Chenal in the Promenade at Chenal, and the Park Plaza locations very well could close. J.C. Penney is moving out of University Mall and is locating in the Brodie Creek development on Colonel Glenn across from the Rave. What doesn't make sense to me, is how people fought the summit mall, but a huge shopping area is going to be built there anyway, and no one has said anything in objection. It's going to be a huge lifestyle center and will even have a wal-mart supercenter.

Shreveport's MSA extends all the way north to the Arkansas line, so Texarkana couldn't snag a parish into its metro.

Nearly 1.2 million passengers patronized the gates of (Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport) in 2005. This from the article http://www.nwarktimes.com/bcdr/News/31626/ posted in another thread by someone else I just happened to catch it. We were talking about airport numbers with Northwest AR and Springfield.

Not to mention spelling center, centre. They're doing that in Little Rock more often.

I've often wondered if Conway would ever split off into its own MSA...but I really don't think it would happen. It is closely tied to Little Rock, especially the counties being contiguous. I think it should stay part of the LR MSA so that we can keep growing...that would be about 100,000 people gone from the LR MSA. It is possible, since only about 30% if Faulkner County commutes to LR. Usually, for a county to be part of an MSA if it's not contigous with the central county, 50% has to commute...but since it's contiguous, that doesn't matter. But they may use that to determine it can be it's own MSA since only 30% commute out. On the other hand, if Conway were to become its own MSA, then along with Faulkner County, a few other counties may be added to Conway's MSA like Conway County and Van Buren County. Then we would have the Little Rock - Conway CMSA that would have a higher population. Not sure which would be for the best.

Obviously, you neglected to read my posts...I have nothing agaist Springfield, I love the area...I'm just aying that you're a little too enthusiastic about things and are spewing false info. One example of your enthusiasm is in the Missouri forum, you refer to Springfield as a metropolis...no need to exaggerate...really!I can't help that you're so upset NWA is growing faster than Springfield. The whole country is not growing, there are seveal areas in decline. There are many areas growing faster than NWA...but NWA is in the top 10...Springfield is not even in the top 50. Don't take my dispute of your "facts" as hate on Springfield...I love the area and I'm glad you post about it on here...I'm disappointed that it is ignored by the Missouri forum. Next time, before spewing your accusations, please read my posts more carefully.