15-Acre Site In Mix For Center

Board Yet To Choose Location For Expansion

Choreographer and dancer Bill Hastings, left, leads a group of students Oct. 14 through a series of dance moves while hosting a workshop, through assistance from Dance and More Store, for area students to benefit the Thea Foundation at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville. The arts center board is planning to open another center in Bentonville and is considering locations.
Choreographer and dancer Bill Hastings, left, leads a group of students Oct. 14 through a series of dance moves while hosting a workshop, through assistance from Dance and More Store, for area students to benefit the Thea Foundation at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville. The arts center board is planning to open another center in Bentonville and is considering locations.

— A 15-acre tract acquired last year by Walmart along East Central Avenue could be the latest in the running for the site of a planned Walton Arts Center expansion.

The timetable for developing the wooded property coincides with the schedule for opening a new performing arts center.

At A Glance

Walton Arts Center Expansion Timeline

2015-16: Design and budget Bentonville location

2016-18: Construction at Bentonville location

2018: Open Bentonville performing arts center

Source: Walton Arts Center

Representatives from the Walmart Real Estate Business Trust told the Bentonville Planning Commission at a technical review meeting Nov. 13 they plan to develop the property in five to 10 years.

Bethany Goodwin, arts center public relations manager, said five to seven years is the timetable for building a facility in Bentonville. She said Walton Arts Center officials haven’t yet chosen a site for the expansion.

A study released this year on the center’s expansion suggested the 2,200-seat performing arts facility be on a “green grass” site as part of a larger development to include cafes, restaurants and bookstores.

When submitting Bentonville as a potential location, the Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce promised to find up to 10 acres within a half mile of the revitalized downtown square.

Another site that has been floated as a potential location is the old Benton County fairgrounds on Southeast Eighth Street and South Main Street. The 10-acre parcel is also owned by Walmart. The city plans a full-scale overhaul of Eight Street once plans are approved by the state and federal highway departments.

Walmart purchased the 15-acre property at 1703 E. Central Ave., a wooded area in front of Washington Junior High School, in March from Troy Link Enterprises for $3.2 million. Stephen Giles, legal counsel for Walmart, told planning commissioners the company plans to clear and grade the lot to prevent erosion before development.

Walmart is requesting the lot be rezoned from agricultural to commercial. The request is set to be voted on by the Planning Commission at Tuesday’s 5 p.m. meeting.

When asked by commissioners what the company planned to do with the lot, Giles said development is years away, but didn’t specify an intent. He said Walmart would come back later with a development plan.

A letter from Giles to city planners says the company plans a “retail facility” on the eastern portion of the tract with the western section reserved for commercial development.

Troy Galloway, director of Community Development for the city, said a commercial rezoning of the property is consistent with the city’s land use plan. Planning commissioners Richard Binns and Pat Carroll both said they were comfortable rezoning the property with the knowledge any development on the property would have to come back for approval.

“They’re going to have to do quite a bit if they want to make that a retail development,” Binns said.

Giles told commissioners the project had the support of the Bentonville School District, which has two schools directly north of the property. District officials said Thursday they supported an access easement to the property, but didn’t take a stance on the rezoning request.

Travis Riggs, a member of the Bentonville School Board, said the board hasn’t discussed the potential rezoning. As a parent, however, he said he would be concerned about increased traffic if the property becomes a Supercenter or Neighborhood Market.

A commercial zoning on the property would allow for a museum, concert hall, retail establishment or offices.

The 15-acre site will be connected to downtown by a revamped Central Avenue, complete with decorative bridges and pedestrian and bike trails. The property is also near the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Orchards Park and Memorial Park.

The Bentonville arts center is projected to cost $160 million. The total doesn’t include the price of land for the facility.

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