Last Sunday's column focused on what I believe must be five areas of emphasis for Little Rock as leaders of the state's largest city deal with the uncertainties of the modern economy. Those five areas, in order of importance, are public safety, K-12 education, higher education, infill development and quality-of-life amenities such as improved parks and hiking/biking trails.
On Sunday afternoon I visited with Mayor Mark Stodola at a University of Arkansas at Little Rock basketball game. He said to me, "I agree with the list, but you forgot to mention jobs." I explained that if the capital city's leaders will concentrate on the five areas listed, jobs will follow. Economic development in this century is about attracting talented people, and talented people want safe cities with good schools and plenty of amenities.
A theme of those who responded to the column is that Little Rock lacks a unifying force that can bring together the many efforts that already are taking place. One reader called the city "a place that acts like it forgot to take its ADD medication, always bouncing from one thing to another."
One of the city's most prominent business figures wrote: "Little Rock needs a shared vision, a common agenda. We're too fragmented. Sometimes it feels like there are more detractors than supporters. The cities that do well have dynamic leadership capable of pulling everybody together--businesses, educational institutions, the media, grass-roots groups, city government. The race for Little Rock mayor is critical to all of this. Little Rock must have an agenda that everyone buys into and tries to make happen. That's a tall order, but the right person can point us in that direction."
The Little Rock metropolitan area and northwest Arkansas should complement each other as the economic engines that drive the state. Northwest Arkansas will no doubt continue its spectacular growth as a center for retailing, logistics, higher education and food products.
When it comes to the jobs that the mayor mentioned in our conversation last Sunday, here are five suggestions for Little Rock:
• Enhance the city's position as the government, legal and financial center of the state. State government isn't going anywhere. Little Rock does have that going for it. Another bright spot is the current downtown revitalization. State government must not repeat the mistakes of years ago when it placed the headquarters of what's now the Arkansas Department of Transportation and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission far from the center of the city. As many state jobs as possible should be clustered near the state Capitol, thus sparking the redevelopment of surrounding neighborhoods.
The private sector also must modernize what's being dubbed the Financial Quarter, the area surrounding the skyscrapers at the intersection of Capitol and Broadway that has become dated, dreary and, for lack of a better word, tired. The brightest spot on the economic horizon might be the growth of Arkansas-based banks, which continue to buy banks across the country. One civic leader told me that he thinks the city has a chance to become "the next Charlotte" as a banking center.
Bank of the Ozarks is about to begin construction on a headquarters campus in west Little Rock. Simmons Bank bought the Acxiom Building in the River Market District and will bring hundreds of jobs to that neighborhood. Both companies should continue growing during the next decade.
• Continue the growth of the medical community. Little Rock is a regional medical center that serves much of Arkansas and parts of surrounding states. With an aging population, institutions such as the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Baptist Health, CHI St. Vincent, Arkansas Children's Hospital, CARTI, the Arkansas Heart Hospital and dozens of related clinics and labs should continue to add jobs.
The fact that these institutions are along or close to Interstate 630 is an added benefit, making them easy to access for patients who are often older and hail from rural communities. Innovations coming out of the research being done at UAMS and Arkansas Children's Hospital also could lead to private-sector jobs.
• Strengthen Little Rock as a center for information technology, telecommunications and other technology-related jobs. Little Rock has the benefit of having once been the home of corporations such as Systematics and Alltel. These companies served as incubators for skilled people who went on to begin their own companies. The city must do everything possible to capitalize on that base.
Expansion plans for downtown's Little Rock Technology Park provide a starting point. So does the addition downtown of high-quality restaurants and craft breweries, the type of amenities needed to attract the talented young people who work for high-tech firms.
• Fully develop the manufacturing areas that surround the Port of Little Rock and the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport. With American manufacturing experiencing a bit of a comeback, the time is now to take advantage of the aviation-related companies that already call the airport home along with the manufacturers adjacent to the Port of Little Rock. Not only are these companies prime candidates for expansion, other manufacturers are sure to find the combination of interstate highway, river, rail and air transportation infrastructure inviting.
If ever there were a time for the Little Rock Airport Commission and the Little Rock Port Authority to be aggressive, it's now.
• Ensure that Little Rock remains the retail and entertainment capital of the state. The addition of an outlet mall, the multimillion-dollar renovation of the Robinson Performance Hall, the planned expansion of the Arkansas Arts Center and the fact that Little Rock is emerging as a culinary destination are encouraging signs. Little Rock's leaders must ensure that the city continues to attract Arkansans from all 75 counties to shop, eat out, go to movies, attend concerts, attend theater productions, etc.
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Rex Nelson is a senior editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Editorial on 12/03/2017