Master List: Major Northwest Arkansas Construction

[mcheiss]

does anyone know what that one building near the village on the creeks is? the one that is under construction

If you're talking about the four floor one, it's the Staybridge Suites. It's only going to be 4 Floors.

But don't worry. The Holiday Inn is being built right next to it at 6 Floors and there's the unknown 10 Floor Office Tower that is suppose to have a mid-sized parking garage next to it.

[mcheiss]

Here's a large project I had no idea about. Since the high school's in Rogers are going to be split into two campuses, the school board has felt the need to have two football stadiums!!! The new stadium will include 5 skyboxes, a 3 floor press box, and will be built just off behind the current High School off Dixeland. This is odd, since they could have saved taxpayer money by simply keeping play in one stadium like what Har-Ber and Central do.

[nwa_479]

This sounds exciting though. I wonder how long it'll take them to build it. Is this like a confirmed deal or what? But, on the other hand Gates Stadium is pretty old. A lot of the other high school stadiums are bigger than this. Oh and where did you find out this information from?

[nwa_479]

Yeah, that's it. Somehow I thought that that was going to be Holiday Inn. The building doesn't really look like a hotel though, in my opinion.

[mcheiss]

This sounds exciting though. I wonder how long it'll take them to build it. Is this like a confirmed deal or what? But, on the other hand Gates Stadium is pretty old. A lot of the other high school stadiums are bigger than this. Oh and where did you find out this information from?

It will be finished by 2008 or 2009. It is confirmed and should go before the Planning Commission soon. I got the info from The Morning News.

[nwa_479]

Hey Matt, how do you upload pictures onto your posts?

[mcheiss]

Hey Matt, how do you upload pictures onto your posts?

First you have to sign up on a photo hosting website, such as photobucket.com. These are entirely free. If you have pictures of your own, you simply press "add picture" and go through your files until you find the picture you want to upload. If you find a pic on the internet, you can save it in your files and upload it the same way. If you have pics I'd love to see them. Let me know how that works for you.

[mcheiss]

I forgot to mention, but the Best Buy in Rogers opened up today. It was extremly packed. Will post pictures later.

[nwa_479]

I posted the pictures in the Promenade section. They're way too blurry. I need to brush up on my photography skills.

[jiggyK]

I have to totally disagree with you on this one. However, I thought the exterior would be brick and not that Cheap Stucco. (On the Legacy and the Mill Building)

i was being a bit facetious in comparing the legacy (god, these names are so over the top!) to walgreens. however, you have to admit that, from the rendering at least, the top center glass does RESEMBLE that of a walgreens. mostly, i'm waiting for the "trancendence" building or the "omega" building to be built... i'm sure it's just a matter of time.

[mzweig]

i was being a bit facetious in comparing the legacy (god, these names are so over the top!) to walgreens. however, you have to admit that, from the rendering at least, the top center glass does RESEMBLE that of a walgreens. mostly, i'm waiting for the "trancendence" building or the "omega" building to be built... i'm sure it's just a matter of time.

There will also probably be a Neveah building!

[mcheiss]

I wanted to tell everyone that the Bentonville Public Library is open in downtown Bentonville. The building looked very nice. I'm glad to see that it's in the downtown area. Anyway here's some pictures.

[nwa_479]

You know what library I'm very impressed with? I'm impressed with the Ft. Smith Public Library. It is a very nice library. It is pretty huge I must say.

[Mith242]

Thanks for the pics Matt. An interesting design for a brick building. I don't think I've seen the Ft Smith Library.

[nwa_479]

Here's a small pic of the Ft. Smith Library.

It's pretty big.

[Mith242]

No I can't say I saw anything like that when I was down there. Interesting design although I think I might like Fayetteville's design better though.

[masons_dad1]

You know what library I'm very impressed with? I'm impressed with the Ft. Smith Public Library. It is a very nice library. It is pretty huge I must say.

That Ft. Smith Public Library is huge, but it reminds me of a high school. I like the design of the Bentonville Public Library as it fits well in Bentonville, which is a city that keeps things simple yet well designed. I could see the BPL becoming a historic landmark 50 years from now.

I'd have to agree with Mith that the Fayetteville Public Library is the nicest design.

[mcheiss]

Updates on Superior Building.

[hogwash]

Someone addressed poor planning in neighboring cities. While, there is inevitably some fault that lies at the feet of the planner you must look at the politics of planning. Theory is great and I'm sure many planners in the area could draft wonderful plans that would be ideal. The REALITY is those in power may simply not care about what the planner thinks or many times have a completely different concept of good land use policy and urban design. If you understand ALL the players in game you will understand the failings of the process. That being said there is A LOT more the planners themselves could be doing. I think some of them just get burned out or lose vision...

I'm not sure about how I feel about the legacy building anymore either. It sits up high and just feels massive. It feels unwelcoming.

[itk]

Someone addressed poor planning in neighboring cities. While, there is inevitably some fault that lies at the feet of the planner you must look at the politics of planning. Theory is great and I'm sure many planners in the area could draft wonderful plans that would be ideal. The REALITY is those in power may simply not care about what the planner thinks or many times have a completely different concept of good land use policy and urban design. If you understand ALL the players in game you will understand the failings of the process. That being said there is A LOT more the planners themselves could be doing. I think some of them just get burned out or lose vision...

Agreed. From a planners standpoint, the best thing I can think of is to have backbone (for lack of a better term). It's so easy to cave in to nay-sayers. But if you are a smart planner, and a good speaker/negotiator/politician, then stick to your guns, and good things can happen. I don't think you can teach that, unfortunately, it depends on the person. The key is to have smart public leaders who see the value in smart planning, and smart planners, and allow them the opportunity to do their job properly (IMO).

[jimdebeau]

wow.....great work.

I visited Arkansas - my one and only time - about 20 years ago.

I came away with two impressions:

1. For once the media is right. Most of Arkansas IS a toilet.

2. In stark contrast to the rest of the state, NW Arkansas is VERY nice. I was quite surprised. And impressed.

[hogwash]

I'm pretty sure most everyone will disagree with your first point.

[Mith242]

Sorry but I'm not sure how much emphasis I'd put on a single visit 20 years ago.

[strmchsr77]

Yeah, quit-a-bit has changed over the past 20 year especially in NWA. In fact most of NWA has changed completely in about 10 or less. If we can just get rid of the hillbilly stereotype...

[mcheiss]

It looks like the Arkansas State Police are searching for a new HQ for it's Troop L division, which is currently based in Springdale. The site will be somewhere along 540 and be 25,000 sq feet, which is much bigger than the current 4,600 sq. feet facility.