tim2462

The southern half of Springdale looks just like Fayetteville...because it is right up against Fayetteville and is even hilly like Fayetteville. The mall is almost in Springdale.

Luckily, with all of the new retail, that will raise more tax money for those types of improvements needed.

I'm sure things will change...espeically if the area continues to grow at current rates. That would all but force Springdale to clean up its bad areas. I think most of Springdale is pretty well kept, I wouldn't mind living there.

I'm wondering how long it's going to be before they finally build a wal-mart over there.

Conway has become a regional shopping and employment destination...it's almost like its own metro in some ways.

Surely, with all of the growth in Springdale, they'll clean up some of those run-down areas.

Conway is having to come up with the money to build it's loop expressway. I'm not sure why the state hasn't widened i-40...the only reason I can think of is that it isn't top priority. They worked to get I-30 6 lanes down to just past Benton...that was needed more than I-40 to Conway. But there has been no mentioning of widening 40 to 6 lanes to Conway. Maybe they'll get on with it soon.

Yeah, like 6-laning it...they widened all of the bridges to accomodate that 6 years ago...and have done nothing since.

Maumelle is what is developing into a bedroom community...Conway is much more than that...probably too far away for that as well.

That's one thing I like about Conway...in some ways, it's a suburb of Little Rock...but in a lot of ways it's not. It's like you know Conway is close to Little Rock and is a suburb in many ways, but when you are actually in Conway, you feel like you are far away from Little Rock. It truly does have its own identity from Little Rock. You might just have to feel it to believe it.

Suburbs are where the major growth is nationwide. St. Louis is shrinking in size, while its suburbs to the north and especially to the west are swelling. Atlanta has about 460,000 residents, but all of its suburbs are where the major growth is...atlanta proper is barely growing...most of its metro is made up of huge growing suburbs. That's the way a lot of cities are now. Little Rock metro is no different. It's like all of those former tiny towns up here in NWA...Centerton, Farmington, Little Flock, Johnson...to name a few...being so close to the big 4 cities isn't stopping those little towns from growing like mad.

That used to be a problem...but the national trend is to develop more retail and entertainment options in suburbs. That's one reason a company from Atlanta is developing that big project in Benton / Bryant...a lot of other things are happening there too, and they are a lot closer to Little Rock than Conway.

I think it did cause it some problems for a while...but I don't think that it does anymore. Conway has grown enough to be independant of Little Rock. Conway has almost the same things that Little Rock does now. I believe it has developed a culture of its on. Being close to Little Rock is a good thing now...it is getting attention from companies it otherwise wouldn't have if it were further way, like Russellville.

An interesting article about Conway I read in the NWA news of all places. http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/139362/

Not really...but they do look REALLY nice from the outside.

Conway is probably my favorite city in Arkansas. There's a lot happening there, as there is in many AR cities. I guess it's just the feeling I have when I'm there. It's a city with a lot of culture, and as the city continues to boom, the cultural oppurtunities will broaden. There are 2 colleges and a major university in Conway. UCA is the fastest growing university in the state and now has enrollment of over 11,000. The 1990 census was around 26,000...the 2000 census was 43,167...the 2005 MetroPlan estimate is 53,000. This means that the city has more than doubled its population in 15 years. Faulkner County is estimated to be around 98,000 by MetroPlan for 2005. The area has a very dynamic and growing economy. While Faulkner County is part of the Little Rock metro...it also has its own separate identity. One reason for this is that only 30% of workers commute outside of Faulkner County to work. Conway has seen a lot of new retail and restaurant growth and now people don't have to drive to Little Rock to shop and eat. The area does still lack a few things, like the movie theater that they've been planning for a long time. Also, being in a dry county hurts the area, as people have to drive to Little Rock to go to clubs and bars...and restaurants if they want to drink. There have been a few restaurants recently that have gotten private club permits...that will hopefully initiate the process of a new wet/dry vote for the county. There are a lot of exciting things going on in Conway...some I have mentioned lately, like the new Technology Park, designed to diversify the economy even more and keep the young, well-educated population there. If you have any news or opinions of Conway, express them here. This is the place for everything Conway.

Benton, Bryant, & Saline County Population Benton ------2000 Census - 21,906........2005 MetroPlan Estimate - 28,000 Bryant-------2000 Census - 9,764........2005 MetroPlan Estmate - 15,000 Saline Co.---2000 Census - 83,529........2005 MetroPlan Estimate - 96,000

The Parc at Maumelle is a huge luxury apartment project going on in Maumelle right along the lake beside the city park. There are several buildings that are 4 stories in height. It is being developed by Prime Income Asset Management of Dallas. The company has several luxury apartment communities in the DFW area. Their website is http://www.primeasset.com/aptdevelop.html There's not really any info about them on the website, other than the mention in the construction list. However, the artist rendering on the site looks a lot like the project in Maumelle. I'll try to find out more information about them and post it. They look like they should be completed pretty soon.

There's a lot going on in Maumelle. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the state. It's a very affluent community between North Little Rock and Conway along the Arkansas River. The 2000 census has its population at 10,557. The census estimate for 2004 was 13, 273. That's about 26% growth rate. Current MertoPlan estimates put it at around 16,000. The area is booming with new residential and retail popping up everywhere...seemingly overnight. While a lot of the population commutes over to Little Rock to work...the area has a fast growing job base as well. I will have pics soon to post. I hope to bring attention to this booming area that is often forgotten or overshadowed by the bigger cities.

Yes, it probably saved Park Plaza...but it sure would've been nice to have had a mega mall. But, you're right...the possibilities are endless on what that land could become. I believe that the city would designate it a TIF, because they have been touting plans for improve the University Corridor from UALR, all the way up to Cantrell.

Yeah, that is a prime location for it. More will follow. Saline County is playing catch up, so a lot of things will come quickly. They just announced this project and it is scheduled to open in October. Projects usually don't move that quickly. I believe tha Simon neglected University Mall while chasing after the Summit Mall dream for so long. Now they have their eyes on another development in WLR and the neglect of University will probably continue. I'd sue the hell out of them too. They need to S*it or get off of the pot.

Bigboyz, are you going to be moving as well? If you are, who is going to keep us up-to-date on all the development in the Texarkana area?

A short video about the new Alcoa Exchange project in Bryant. This will give you an idea of what the area looks like if you're not familiar with it. I'm going to take some pictures of Bryant and Benton, soon, so that everybody can see all of the new development down there. What you will see in the video is the area between the alcoa exit in Benton and the Bryant exit. http://www.kthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=21677

That's what I'm thinking. They are running out of time, though, since Parisian is Opening in October.

The Promenade at Chenal is being developed in West Little Rock on Chenal Pkwy. across from Nuvell and the Post Office just before Rahling Road. Everybody already knows about this project, but I could not find where it is posted to add some new information. Deltic Timber Corporation announced today the extension of its sales contract with an affiliate of RED Development, regarding the sale of a 48-acre, commercial land site located in Deltic's Chenal Valley real estate development in Little Rock. The sale of the site had been anticipated to close during the fourth quarter of 2005; however, the sales contract has been extended and is now scheduled to close in 2006. RED Development, intends to construct "The Promenade at Chenal," an upscale, open-air, lifestyle shopping center. They also announced today the sale of a 4.72-acre commercial tract located in Chenal Valley to Bank of the Ozarks. It will be located at the northwest corner of Chenal Parkway and, soon to be extended, Rahling Road. This site is adjacent to the RED Development site. They have a lot of commercial land in Chenal Valley to be developed in the future. So far, Dillard's is the only announced Tenant for The Promenade at Chenal. They are moving slow with this project. Hopefully, once the sale is closed, they will get on with it. Take a look at this website for a slide show and site plan. http://www.reddevelopment.com