Walk on Emma Avenue Shows Changes

SPRINGDALE — A recent Wednesday morning beckoned walkers with comfortable temperatures and streets lined with flowers and trees. But hardly a person was in sight.

The walk down Emma Avenue, the one-time heart of Springdale, was different 50 years ago. There was no parking space and little room for walking, according to “Emma, We Love You,” a book by Bruce Vaughan.

At 10 a.m. on a recent day, only city workers were out, watering red begonias. No shoppers crowded the sidewalks.

Several organizations, including city government and the Springdale Chamber of Commerce, have worked to revitalize downtown, said Perry Webb, chief executive officer of the chamber. None have succeeded so far, he said.

Webb said he believes development of the Razorback Greenway, a 38-mile trail that will stretch from Fayetteville to Bentonville, could bring change to Springdale’s downtown. The trail is scheduled to be finished in March 2014.

“The trail will go right through the middle of Springdale’s downtown,” Webb said. “No other city in the area will have that.”

The trail should bring people back to Emma Avenue, Webb said. The presence of people will create demand.

“Demand will drive the revitalization process, not supply,” Webb said. “We have to have people in the downtown to start the process.”

The walk began in the 200 block of West Emma by Bread of Life, which provides food and financial assistance to the needy, and headed east. Bread of Life’s building is the former home of WACO Title Co. The business expanded to take up three addresses on the street before moving in the 1990s.

Next door is the Springdale Chamber of Commerce building. The U.S. Post Office was located there before it moved to Holcomb Street, a few blocks away. When a second Post Office opened on the west side of the city, many of the postal functions moved out of downtown, officials said.

The Chamber of Commerce building also was home to the Springdale School District offices before they moved to Thompson Street.

The next block includes a restaurant, a nail shop, an antique store and Pruden Construction, Roofing and Restoration. Jim Pruden, an owner, said the company has been downtown since 1979.

“I used to know everyone downtown,” Pruden said. “I don’t know anyone anymore. It’s all changed.”

Across the street, on the south side of Emma, building after building stands empty. Of eight addresses in the 100 block of West Emma, four are empty. Two more addresses — a building with connecting interior doors — display a sign reading “Art Expo Coming Soon.”

Only one other block has the same low occupancy rate: the 300 block of East Emma. Between the 500 block of East Emma and the 200 block of West Emma, there are 15 vacancies among 82 addresses. Another three addresses will be vacant when Ryan’s Clothing store closes.

Law offices, an accounting firm, a cake shop and a bank fill store fronts along the 100 blocks of east and west Emma. These businesses don’t generate much foot traffic.

“Many successful downtowns have a lot of professional offices and specialty shops,” Webb said. “These are destinations. People come to the area specifically for those services, like award-winning cake decorating at Shelby Lynn’s.”

Shelby Lynn’s Cake Shoppe at 118 W. Emma Ave. and owner Jennifer Matsubara have received national and international recognition for her cakes.

The east 200 block was hard hit recently. Ryan’s, at 202 E. Emma will be closing after its inventory is sold. Max Ryan, who ran the business, said he is retiring and no family member wants to take his place.

“Ryan’s had branded itself as part of the street,” Webb said. “It was successful because of the service it provided and the history it had with the town.”

Ryan’s is the last of the old businesses on the street, Pruden said. Lots of businesses on the street for decades have closed, he said, such as Rick’s Shoes and Tatman’s Jewelry.

Across the street, the Bank of America branch has closed. The owner, The Help Card, remains with offices mainly in the back and upstairs.

Across the tracks, the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad has renovated the buildings it owns on both sides of the street. Renovations continue on the north side with businesses like Spencer Printing and North Star Plumbing.

On the south side, however, sits one of the most dilapidated buildings on the street. The Brown Hatchery, at 317 E. Emma, was once in the heart of the Northwest Arkansas poultry industry. It, along with the original Tyson Co. headquarters next door, are on the National Register of Historic Places.

The hatchery building has faced condemnation proceedings by the city several times. Owner James Cypert has offered to give the building to the city instead of tearing it down. The donation has not yet been completed, said Ernest Cate, city attorney.

Josh Baker and Amy Akin of Lowell sat on a bench, waiting for the House of Hope Rescue Mission to open. The organization provides food and services to the needy, according to its website. Baker said Springdale’s improvements in downtown are running behind those in Rogers and Bentonville.

“Springdale’s needs some work,” he said.

Cities across the country have the same downtown problem as Springdale, Webb said. Everyone is trying to replicate any successes a city has had.

“Bentonville and Fayetteville have had some major investments that have been made,” Webb said. “Rogers has had some in the past that’s starting to pay off. Their efforts have been going on for decades.”

Ray Dotson, who owns Dotson Glass and Mirror at 419 E. Emma, plans on opening Spring Creek Market and Deli at 501 E. Emma in September, he said.

“It will sell Amish food projects, like cheese, bread and meats,” Dotson said. “I could have opened it somewhere else, like Sunset Avenue, but I’ve got a lot invested in Emma.”

The 500 block of East Emma at one time was anchored by Layman’s. The family operated a furniture store and a hardware store. Both are gone. The sign remains in front of the old furniture store, now part of the school district’s alternative high school. A Dollar General operates in the old hardware store.

Across the street, Orscheln took over the old Layman’s farm supply building. The building once was a Jones Trucking building, then the offices for the Springdale News. Orscheln recently moved to Tontitown. The building and parking lot, which takes up the Emma side of the block between Water and Berry streets, is empty.

Some of the largest buildings on the street — like Orscheln, Ryan’s and Bank of America — are empty or soon will be.

Vacancy rates should improve as a result of the City Council’s recent approval of a master plan for downtown revitalization, said Mayor Doug Sprouse. The plan uses the development of the greenway, and the people it is expected to draw, as the basis for proposed renovations.

The Springdale Downtown Alliance paid a private company to draw up the plan. The alliance will meet at 1:30 p.m. today to decide what project will kick off the revitalization process. The group expects to apply for grants to begin the plan. No time schedule has been set.

Money to build the greenway comes from a $15 million federal grant and matching money from the Walton Family Foundation.

“With the help of the greenway construction, we’ll be making a substantial investment in the downtown,” Sprouse said. “We think other opportunities will develop.”

The trail has built momentum downtown that must be maintained, Webb said.

“We’ve had some major downtown property owners that want to become involved,” Webb said. “They are still on the sidelines, but they want to keep up with everything that is going on. They should soon be ready to make the jump into the game.”

“I can see things getting better,” Pruden said. “There is a lot more activity on Emma than there was 10 years ago. I think what the city has done is starting to pay off.”