Branson/Springfield

[Mith242]

Maybe I'm wrong but I thought Springfield alone was around 100,000.

[masons_dad1]

Maybe I'm wrong but I thought Springfield alone was around 100,000.

I was actually referring to the area of the city limits. Fayetteville's city area is 44.5 square-miles and Springfield's city area is 73.8 square-miles. That's a difference of 29.3 square-miles, so my comparison was a little off, but it still made for a good example. As for population, Fayetteville's population stands at 58,047 and Springfield's population stands at 151,580. These population stats are based on the official 2000 US Census and not any special census'.

If you were to add the city areas of all 4 of the major cities in NWA you would get around 130 square-miles, not including Lowell and Bella Vista which are sometimes considered to be part of Rogers and Bentonville.

[Mith242]

Ah areawise, I see what you're saying now.

[slyder1]

I was actually referring to the area of the city limits. Fayetteville's city area is 44.5 square-miles and Springfield's city area is 73.8 square-miles. That's a difference of 29.3 square-miles, so my comparison was a little off, but it still made for a good example. As for population, Fayetteville's population stands at 58,047 and Springfield's population stands at 151,580. These population stats are based on the official 2000 US Census and not any special census'.

If you were to add the city areas of all 4 of the major cities in NWA you would get around 130 square-miles, not including Lowell and Bella Vista which are sometimes considered to be part of Rogers and Bentonville.

Yeah, Springfield has not annexed land in about 15 years, with execption of the 155 acres of nothing. In the vision 20/20 website they plan to have the city doubled in land size by 2020. I mentioned somtime earlier that the city doesn't stop where the true city limit signs are. I say this because Springfield is the perfect example. I would say that about 15 sq. miles are fully developed with strip malls, restaurants, businesses, and so on..... but is not annexed in the city. They are finnaly taking a stand doing something about this because they don't want Nixa, Ozark, and Republic, which are getting closer and closer to the true city limits, to take the land that should be in Springfield. I hope you understand what I'm saying. A little confusing.

[masons_dad1]

Yeah, Springfield has not annexed land in about 15 years, with execption of the 155 acres of nothing. In the vision 20/20 website they plan to have the city doubled in land size by 2020. I mentioned somtime earlier that the city doesn't stop where the true city limit signs are. I say this because Springfield is the perfect example. I would say that about 15 sq. miles are fully developed with strip malls, restaurants, businesses, and so on..... but is not annexed in the city. They are finnaly taking a stand doing something about this because they don't want Nixa, Ozark, and Republic, which are getting closer and closer to the true city limits, to take the land that should be in Springfield. I hope you understand what I'm saying. A little confusing.

I agree. Too much good land here in NWA is being annexed by little nothing towns like the deal with Highfill wanting to annex land around the regional airport when by all rights the land should have gone to Bentonville, then Centerton stepped in and sued Bentonville over the land. At least that what I gather from the little I've read about that mess. I'd like to see Springfield annex good developed land that will only strengthen it as the core city of the Springfield MSA. The suburbs should just be mostly residential neighborhoods with very little commercial development, unlike NWA where the suburbs seem to be getting a lot of the good commercial developments.

[tim2462]

I agree. Too much good land here in NWA is being annexed by little nothing towns like the deal with Highfill wanting to annex land around the regional airport when by all rights the land should have gone to Bentonville, then Centerton stepped in and sued Bentonville over the land. At least that what I gather from the little I've read about that mess. I'd like to see Springfield annex good developed land that will only strengthen it as the core city of the Springfield MSA. The suburbs should just be mostly residential neighborhoods with very little commercial development, unlike NWA where the suburbs seem to be getting a lot of the good commercial developments.

Huge commercial developments are goint to suburbs all over the country rather than the core city.

Suburbs are cities too. They have to have developments to support them as a city as well. If suburbs were all residential, then you'd have a lot more people having to drive further and further to do everything.

Just because a city is labled a suburb, doesn't mean it's not a city. Every city deserves to make itself as good as possible, no matter what the bigger city may or may not get.

[tim2462]

Even if the city of Springfield covered all of Greene County, it still would have quite a bit less population than similar cities. So, annexing land surrounding the current city limits isn't going to make a huge difference.

By looking at the density in those areas, it doesn't look like it would add much population. I know there are a lot of residential areas popping up, but that doesn't add as many people as you would think. Little Rock is one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. It's in the top 10..and even with all the buiding going on here, the population of the city isn't increasing by as much as it should be. We aren't at the 190,000 mark yet. Most residential happens in the suburbs in almost any city. This is why most core cities in the entire country are barely gaining, or losing a lot of population. St. Louis is a prime example. They lost over 10,000 people in just a few years, but the suburbs are still growing. My point is, just because you see a lot of construcition going on, don't let that fool you into thinking that the city is gaining tons of population. It'll be interesting to see if the new residential in Springfield will be enough to offset the population it's losing.

[masons_dad1]

Even if the city of Springfield covered all of Greene County, it still would have quite a bit less population than similar cities. So, annexing land surrounding the current city limits isn't going to make a huge difference.

By looking at the density in those areas, it doesn't look like it would add much population. I know there are a lot of residential areas popping up, but that doesn't add as many people as you would think. Little Rock is one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. It's in the top 10..and even with all the buiding going on here, the population of the city isn't increasing by as much as it should be. We aren't at the 190,000 mark yet. Most residential happens in the suburbs in almost any city. This is why most core cities in the entire country are barely gaining, or losing a lot of population. St. Louis is a prime example. They lost over 10,000 people in just a few years, but the suburbs are still growing. My point is, just because you see a lot of construcition going on, don't let that fool you into thinking that the city is gaining tons of population. It'll be interesting to see if the new residential in Springfield will be enough to offset the population it's losing.

I see what you're saying. I didn't mean that the suburbs should be only residential, but when commercial real estate in the suburbs exceeds that in the core city it severely weakens the economy of the core city. Most of the infrastructure required to move people to and from those big commercial centers in the suburbs falls on the core city. But, as you said, core cities are losing population counts while suburbs are gaining, which really doesn't hurt the economy unless property taxes are the core city's main source of revenue. The core city should be where most of the city's shopping, recreation and entertainment is found, which strengthens the city as a whole. What good is a great suburb if it's attached to a Detroit? Northwest Arkansas is a great example of all these great developments being spread out all over several cities and no one city has the money for infrastructure to support any of it.

[mcheiss]

St. Louis is a prime example. They lost over 10,000 people in just a few years, but the suburbs are still growing. My point is, just because you see a lot of construcition going on, don't let that fool you into thinking that the city is gaining tons of population. It'll be interesting to see if the new residential in Springfield will be enough to offset the population it's losing.

Yes, the city of O'fallon, MO suburb to St. Louis, was one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S.

[Mith242]

With the Branon Landing Grand Opening is on May 25

The Branson Landing is already 80% leased and there will be over 150 speacialty stores once fully leased.

Here is a list of executed tenants as of 3-1-06:

Have you heard anymore news on Branson Landing slyder1? I really don't know the layout of Branson very well but I was curious what area of town is this development in?

[mcheiss]

Have you heard anymore news on Branson Landing slyder1? I really don't know the layout of Branson very well but I was curious what area of town is this development in?

It seems Slyder has his own forum in the Missouri Section. It's the Springfield Branson section.

[slyder1]

Have you heard anymore news on Branson Landing slyder1? I really don't know the layout of Branson very well but I was curious what area of town is this development in?

Branson Landing is going to open May, 26. It is located on the east side of Downtown Branson right smack on lake Taneycomo. The easiest way to get there would be to get off on The strip (Hwy 76) and follow the signs to downtown and you will run right into it. It's not hard to miss at all. The BL officials have said that they will not announce some of the BIG stores, or more popular, until one week prior to the opening. The fountains, flameburts, 1.5 mile boardwalk, trolleys, street entertainers....... will all be ready for the Grand Opening. Feel free to ask any other questions.

[slyder1]

It seems Slyder has his own forum in the Missouri Section. It's the Springfield Branson section.

Yes, monsoon set up a forum. Although it has been slow it is "slowly" gaining other people. I also wanted to personally thank all of you for letting me post in your forum. You all have been so nice. Thank You.

P.S. I will still post in here until the Springfield/ Branson forum gets off if you don't mind.

Thank You!

[das450]

Slyder

Any news on Cheesecake Factory at Branson Landing ? I know you posted something about it in the past but was curious of any updates.

Also, what BIG names you think are going in ?

Thanks

das450

[KJW]

Buried deep in today's Northwest Arkansas Times/BCR article is how the new Branson Landing (1/2 of which opens this month) is expected to hurt tourism in Arkansas.

Nothing whatsoever against Branson, but how has it helped Arkansas tourism in the first place? (Again, this article, like the "Jenks, OK" one last week, is truncated online, so I guess I'll have to buy the newspaper.)

[slyder1]

Buried deep in today's Northwest Arkansas Times/BCR article is how the new Branson Landing (1/2 of which opens this month) is expected to hurt tourism in Arkansas.

Nothing whatsoever against Branson, but how has it helped Arkansas tourism in the first place? (Again, this article, like the "Jenks, OK" one last week, is truncated online, so I guess I'll have to buy the newspaper.)

The article didn't say anything about the BL hurting Arkansas tourism it just said it wouldn't help. My quess would be that since Branson is so close to Eureka Spring's, Buffallo River...... and so many people visit Branson (7.5 million) that it would have a sizable impact on those areas manly do to advertising in Branson for those area's. Just my thought.

[tim2462]

Branson Landing will not hurt Arkansas tourism. I've never heard of a shopping center hurting another state's tourism. Branson Landing is not going to draw more people to Branson, it will just be another place for people that are already visiting to shop. People visit different places for many different reasons. Many people like natural wonders without the headache of traffic and crowds. Another thing a lot of people don't realize is that many people that visit Arkansas take day trips over to Branson and many people that visit Branson also come over into Arkansas and visit our many great places. We share a lot of tourists. Even back when Regis and Kathy Lee did their show in Branson, several years ago, they drove around and actually spent a lot of their trip in Arkansas. The Ozarks are an attraction in themselves...the state line is invisibile.

Craig Ferguson was on Ellen this past week. For those of you that don't know him...he's the British guy that was on Drew Carey and he now hosts The Late Late Show on CBS. Ellen asked him if he ever got out and explored the U.S. He said that he really enjoyed road trips. He said that when driving the interstate, he always would drive atleast 5 miles off of it to get gas, so that he could see more of America. Well, she asked him if he had a favorite place he had traveled. Here was his answer. "The Ozarks in Arkansas."

"They are so beautiful, and lovely people." "They eat catfish, it's really delicious." He asked Ellen if she had ever been there and she said, "No, but I am going to get over there though, I've heard great things."

[slyder1]

Just to clear the air about Branson Landing, some poeple like to call it a "Shopping Center" which is not what the BL is.

1) The BL is on a lakefront with a 1.5 mile long boardwalk.

2) 2-5 story Hilton Hotles plus a 12 story Hilton.

3) A Fountain and Flame burts show done by the creators of the Fountains at the Belagio Casino Vegas.

4) Bass Pro shops w/ a flagged 5 star floating Restaurant

5) A boat test ride marina on the lake at Bass Pro

6) Street Musicians, entertainers, acrobats....

7) Trolley System to ride form one end to the other.

........as you can see Branson Langind is anything but a "Shopping Center." (shakes head)

[masons_dad1]

Just to clear the air about Branson Landing, some poeple like to call it a "Shopping Center" which is not what the BL is.

1) The BL is on a lakefront with a 1.5 mile long boardwalk.

2) 2-5 story Hilton Hotles plus a 12 story Hilton.

3) A Fountain and Flame burts show done by the creators of the Fountains at the Belagio Casino Vegas.

4) Bass Pro shops w/ a flagged 5 star floating Restaurant

5) A boat test ride marina on the lake at Bass Pro

6) Street Musicians, entertainers, acrobats....

7) Trolley System to ride form one end to the other.

........as you can see Branson Langind is anything but a "Shopping Center." (shakes head)

In other words Branson Landing is like nothing that can be found in Northwest Arkansas. Branson Landing won't hurt NWA tourism because there is little to no tourism here. What are people going to see or do here that they can't see or do anywhere? As for camping, fishing, canoing... the Ozarks is among the smallest draw of natural tourist destinations in the US. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but there are a lot of great outdoors that most people think of before they think Ozarks. BL may hurt Eureka Springs' tourism, but I hear they're doing a good enough job themselves of hurting their tourism.

[mcheiss]

^Most people haven't heard of the Ozarks.

When most go on an outdoor vacation, they go to places like the Great Smokey Mountains, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, etc.

[Mith242]

There was an interesting article in Sunday's Arkansas Democrat Gazette about the Branson Landing. They did mention they thought it would keep more people there around Branson so that not as many might come down to Arkansas and more specifically Eureka Springs. Looked like it had some nice info about the development. Unfortunately I left my paper up at work so I can't mention any specifics at the moment.

[slyder1]

I thought I would share some information on the proposed parks, greensparce, trails...... for Springfield in the Vision 20/20 plan.

This map shows the proposed trials, greenways, greenway connections......

This map shows the area's in which community parks are needed. Though there are already some parks in these areas I quess the city wants more, which is fine by me.

In case some were wondering about the Springfield Vision 20/20, it is a master plan for planning and foreseeing where anything from new freeways to major activity centers to sidewalks....... will be in the 2020 timeline.

Here's the link: http://www.ci.springfield.mo.us/community/vision2020/

[mcheiss]

Here you go slyder, a little present from the NWA Forum to the Springfield Subforum to help you get things started.

Be sure to stop in though.

[Mith242]

Yeah I still can't believe you never told us earlier that you actually got a new subforum over here. I knew you had asked about it and I had noticed you around over in the NWA forum as much. Anyway I think it will be a good thing for it to have it's own subforum.

[slyder1]

Yeah I still can't believe you never told us earlier that you actually got a new subforum over here. I knew you had asked about it and I had noticed you around over in the NWA forum as much. Anyway I think it will be a good thing for it to have it's own subforum.

I'm pretty sure I mentiond that monsoon set up a forum for us, its on the previous page. Its pretty slow but hopefully it will pick up in a little while.