Downtown: Home

City Officials See Jump In Housing Purchases

Workers remodel a house Friday at Southwest C and Southwest Fourth streets in Bentonville.

Workers remodel a house Friday at Southwest C and Southwest Fourth streets in Bentonville.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

— Downtown Bentonville is becoming more than just a place for an evening out to dinner or a walk through local galleries. It is becoming home to an increasing number of people.

City officials have seen an uptick in home renovations and new home construction in the downtown area the past 12 to 18 months, said Troy Galloway, director of community development.

Timeline

Downtown Bentonville Redevelopmnt

1996: University of Arkansas conducts study on renovations to downtown square

2005: Downtown Master Plan adopted

2006: Walton family announces plans for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

2008: Downtown square renovation completed.

2011: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opens.

Upcoming: 21c Museum Hotel opening (spring), Walton Arts Center expansion (2018).

SOURCE: Staff Report

“Downtown Bentonville is a great option,” Galloway said. “A lot of young professionals are finding out more and more that Bentonville offers a great opportunity for an urban lifestyle without the commute from Fayetteville.”

Larry Horton, a real estate agent, said he has seen an increase in demand for houses downtown. His office is off the Bentonville square, and he said he gets drop-ins from people walking downtown looking for homes.

“Everybody wants to be downtown because they know that’s where everything is going to happen,” Horton said.

Horton called this time a “transition phase” for Bentonville, as the city absorbs changes in the wake of the opening of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and becomes a cultural and arts destination. He cited the expansion of the Walton Arts Center to Bentonville as another key draw to downtown.

While the desire for homes is strong, availability is a challenge. Many people are renovating old homes in the historic district or razing homes to rebuild on the lot.

Todd Renfrow owns Lamplighter Restoration, a Bentonville business specializing in breathing new life into old homes. He said he gets many calls from people wanting to live downtown.

“They want to live downtown so they can walk to the square, visit Crystal Bridges or ride the trails,” Renfrow said.

The city and developers are getting creative in finding ways to allow for more homes, Galloway said. Homes are being built on “postage stamp” lots with tiny yards. Empty lots are often subdivided into two or three lots to increase density downtown, Galloway said.

“That density is important,” he said. “Everybody wants a grocery store downtown, but you need people that live there to patronize downtown businesses and restaurants. We can’t rely on tourists and business commuters. Downtown needs a resident population to support it.”

Increasing the availability of downtown multifamily housing is a priority, Galloway said. The city’s multifamily vacancy rates are running at less than 2 percent, with plenty of desire for downtown living.

“We want housing to be available for folks of all income levels,” Galloway said. “We don’t want people that work downtown to have to drive from Centerton because they can’t afford to live near where they work.”

City officials, though, are prepared to be picky about the design of multifamily housing allowed, Galloway said.

“Over the long term we want to increase the availability of multifamily housing downtown,” he said. “But Bentonville has a brand, and we want to support that identity.”