Tucked away in a drawer on the business desk in our Northwest Arkansas newsroom is a white bumper sticker with blue lettering bearing the slogan: Springdale's Not That Bad!
Specifics on the origin are hard to come by, even for folks around the office with decades of institutional knowledge about Springdale. What they can agree on is that the slogan was developed as a smart-aleck response to one of the town's various re-branding attempts over the years.
It might have been the brainchild of a resident back in the '90s. Perhaps a neighbor to the south in Fayetteville had them printed and distributed. Either way, the message perfectly sums up the struggle with perception that Springdale fights, for whatever reason.
Springdale is the fourth largest town in Arkansas. It boasts the region's best numbers for job creation in recent years. Tyson Foods Inc., a Fortune 500 company with global stature, is headquartered here. Arvest Ballpark has become a draw for minor league baseball fans, the occasional concert and, this fall, will host an expansion of the Bikes Blues and BBQ Motorcycle Rally.
Still, locals will acknowledge that Springdale has often found itself as the butt of jokes in Northwest Arkansas. There has been talk of improvements and attempts at changing perception, all of it usually met with a laugh, a roll of the eyes or -- when somebody is feeling really creative -- a bumper sticker that people are still seeing all these years later.
This dismissive attitude has been especially prevalent when the discussion has turned to downtown Springdale. Aside from Shelby Lynn's Cake Shoppe (once featured on a Food Network TV show), a handful of local restaurants and Bella's Clothing & Gifts, there isn't much to lure shoppers (money). If somebody were creating a bumper sticker, it might say: Downtown Springdale, it's not so great.
There are, however, real signs that improvement is coming. Real, meaningful improvement.
These last two months, in particular, have provided evidence that something -- nobody is really sure just what or when -- is happening. There are examples, small and large.
Just last week Fayetteville's Baller Foodtruck was parked across from a demolition site downtown where a proposed $2 million park and trail project will be located. What's significant about a food truck serving for a couple hours in Springdale is that the city currently has no ordinances governing mobile vendors. This was, as it was explained to me, a trial run to see if there is any reason to develop them.
Folks standing in line 30-plus minutes to order fried macaroni and cheese balls is not a significant happening, but one that illustrates the potential for change. If you're looking for more, consider a recent increase in real estate activity.
Investors formed Restore Springdale LLC and paid $50,000 for the Apollo Theater on Emma Avenue earlier this month. They purchased the building -- leaky roof and all -- after the city council made a final "somebody buy it, or it's being destroyed" announcement.
Springdale Downtown LLC, a company registered at the same address in Delaware as Walton Family Enterprises, purchased the old Ryan's Clothing building for more than $1 million. Walton Family Enterprises helped reshape downtown Bentonville.
Tyson Foods has purchased a pair of properties in the area, including spending $450,000 on a 30,484-square-foot building and 1.5 acres of land June 20. Tyson also donated $100,000 to help with demolition efforts of two buildings where that park and trail system will be located. More than $10 million has been committed by the Walton Family Foundation to help Springdale with its portion of the Razorback Greenway trail, which runs throughout Northwest Arkansas.
Connecting the trail with downtown Springdale would, in theory, bring additional visitors. More people would likely encourage additional investment. A popular theory -- and there are several -- is that Tyson is planning to invest in offices downtown.
A Tyson spokesman was kind enough to reply to a couple emails about the company's flurry of real estate activity. He acknowledged the company is working on a plan, but didn't have much to say beyond that.
That the company, along with Walton money and other local investors, are taking an interest downtown says plenty.
Springdale's not that bad, and there's a legitimate effort happening to make it better.
If you have a tip, call Chris Bahn at (479) 365-2972 or email him at
SundayMonday Business on 07/27/2014