FAYETTEVILLE — The Walton Arts Center culled its list of possible expansion sites to 15. Twenty-five proposals from across Benton and Washington counties were submitted in early August. The Walton Arts Center Facilities Committee unanimously endorsed the recommendation of the Walton Arts Center senior staff to trim the list to a final 15 after weighing the proposals against site selection criteria set by the arts center council.
Most of the final 15 sites are in Benton County. Fayetteville's proposal, which expands the arts center on its current Dickson Street campus, is still in play, as are two other Fayetteville sites. The Arvest Ballpark site in Springdale also made the list of 15.
"I don't think the criteria has changed, but we're narrowing what we're looking for in the criteria," Peter Lane, president and CEO of the center, told the Facilities Committee on Wednesday, explaining the elimination process.
Funding, "political will to complete the project" and the site's overall context and master plan will weigh heavily as the committee pares the list down again, possibly as soon as the end of October.
"My guess is that we'll come up with some questions that will naturally eliminate some of these," said Hershey Garner, a member of the center's council and who serves on the facilities committee.
The arts center is looking for a roughly 10-acre site to house a $180 million expansion that would include a 2,200-seat performing arts center, a 600-seat multiuse theater and a smaller black box studio.
Not all of the names on the list of 15 were actual sites. The Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce made the list even though its proposal did not specify a site. "Within 1/2 mile of the Bentonville Downtown square," the proposal read. The Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce also made the list even though its proposal amounted to a willingness to work handily with any site selected in Rogers or Bentonville.
"We will be supportive of whatever decision the (WAC) board makes, however I-540 access and the synergy that surrounds our immediate region, including Bentonville, makes the most sense and will garner the most political will and a greater probability of success," reads a letter from Raymond Burns, president and CEO of the Rogers-Lowell chamber to the Walton Arts Center.
The endorsement of the project by local chambers and government is not something the center is likely to take lightly, said Terri Trotter, chief operating officer for the center.
Judy Schwab, associate vice chancellor for administration at the University of Arkansas and on the center's Facilities Committee, wondered about whether city support would extend to a site not immediately put forward by the city. For example, Fayetteville's proposal has the expansion occurring near the current arts center campus. Would that support be the same if the center selected another site in Fayetteville, Schwab said.
"Is the level of support site-specific or is it community-specific?" Schwab said,
Jerry Vest, another member of the committee, noted how a site sits in its neighborhood and what the overall master-plan is for that site would also weigh heavily.
"When you have a raw development, you need to know what the vision is and you need to know about the viability of the vision," Vest said.
The Walton Arts Center hopes to have the final two site possibilities decided by the end of the year.
The Lists
Walton Arts Center
List of 15 Possible Sites
Washington County
Fayetteville: Dickson Street Location
Paula Marinoni, Fayetteville: Wedington Drive and Interstate 540
James Irwin, Fayetteville: Van Asche Drive and Steele Crossing
Springdale Chamber of Commerce: Arvest Ball Park
Benton County
Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce
NWA Arkansas Sport, Entertainment and Leisure Development, Rogers: Pinnacle Hills Area
Greg Nabholz, Rogers: New Hope and Bellview roads
Hunter Haynes, Rogers: Promenade Boulevard between Walnut Street and New Hope Road
Connie Lovett, Rogers: 2724 Champions Drive
JT Rose, Rogers: 45th and Walnut streets
Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce
Keystone Ventures, Bentonville: I-540 at future J Street Exit
Eagleswings Investments, Bentonville: Southesat "C" Street, north of 22nd Street
Colliers International, Bentonville: 1703 Central Ave.
Becky Paneitz, Bentonville: NorthWest Arkansas Community College
10 Sites Not Selected
Washington County
Billy Joe Bartholomew, Fayetteville: 501 W. 11th St.
Bob Hopmann, Fayetteville: 2300 S. Razorback Road
Connie Lovett and Russell Pennington, Fayetteville: South Shiloh Drive between Highways 16 and 62
Connie Lovett and Russell Pennington, Fayetteville: 3403 N. Highway 112
Tom Reed, Fayetteville: Highway 71 near the NWA Mall
Jenny Talley, Springdale: 4976 Elm Springs Road
Mickey Grahm, Springdale: 3744 S. 48th Street
Benton County
Bob Perry, Lowell: South Goad Springs Road
Sarah O'Brien, Bentonville: Peach Orchards Road
Sarah O'Brien, Bentonville: 1703 E. Central Ave.
Source: Staff Report