SPRINGDALE - A nodule of sought-after businesses is forming around one of the few underdeveloped interchanges along the Interstate 540 corridor - the highway’s intersection with Elm Springs Road in Springdale.
A Wal-Mart Supercenter is sprouting up at the intersection of Elm Springs Road and North 48th Street, soon to be accompanied by a Mc-Donald’s and an Arvest Bank branch, though no plans have been submitted to the city, said Patsy Christie, director of planning and community development for Springdale.
The development is being called Hall Crossing after the family whose farm once occupied the land, which is about 70 acres. The former Robin Hall, who is runningfor state representative in District 87 under her married name, Robin Lundstrum, is handling the sale of the property for her mother, Margie Hall. Lundstrum’s father, Max Hall, is deceased.
The Halls moved to the property when Lundstrum was 11 or 12, she said. Back then, the spot of was considered some distance from bustling Springdale. The Halls have had numerous offers in the past decade and a half, but they were patient.
“We just waited and waited and waited because we didn’t want to sell it and make it look ugly,” she said. “It’s the entrance to Springdale [from the north] and we wanted something that was just incredible.”
Plans show the megastore is in the center of the development with North48th Street separating it from nine more lots. The Hall family retained an 18-acre plot for future development, Christie said.
“It’s a plus for Springdale,” she said. “I think it will encourage more commercial development along that interchange.”
Wal-Mart takes up a 19-acre lot for its new 186,000-square-foot Supercenter, and the retailer also bought 1-acre and a 2.5-acre parcels. Christie said Wal-Mart is planning a fueling facility across North 48th Street from the Supercenter. In many of the retailer’s stores, gas pumps are in a kiosklike area in the parking lot.
The store is expected to open in August and employ about 300 people. It’ll be the city’s second Supercenter. Springdale also has two smaller, grocery-centered Neighborhood Markets.
Lisa Ray, president and CEO of Arvest Bank-Springdale Region, said the new branch will be 3,000 or 4,000 square feet.
“There’s a real need on that side of town,” she said.
Business, Pages 29 on 04/12/2014