SPRINGDALE -- A drive along Emma Avenue reveals the reawakening of the city's downtown district.
Northwest Medical Center-Springdale, the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, the city's Municipal Campus and The Jones Center all are part of the district.
But two of the city's mainstays aren't included in the district: the public library and the Rodeo of the Ozarks. Leaders of both said they want to be, but were never asked.
Efforts to revitalize downtown began seven years ago when the city commissioned a master plan for the area.
The downtown district encompasses the area between Huntsville and Caudle avenues, and Thompson Street and Old Missouri Road. The area was given fewer residential zoning restrictions to build a welcoming and comfortable environment, said Rick Barry, assistant director of the city's Planning Department.
City officials also targeted the area for development.
The library and rodeo lie just beyond those boundaries.
Jeff Cooperstein, a senior research assistant for the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, said a downtown location probably comes with an unofficial "psychological cache." He said he has seen no studies about benefits either by proximity or funding for institutions like libraries.
Different cities have different identities they're looking for, and it's important to have the community to buy into the plan, he said.
"But the idea of having a library downtown is cool," Cooperstein said.
Bentonville and Fayetteville both include their libraries in their downtown districts, he noted.
Patsy Christie, director of the Planning Department, said the downtown district boundaries were set for walkability. Neither North Thompson Street nor Old Missouri Road are easy to cross on foot or bicycle, she said.
Mayor Doug Sprouse noted Natural State Rock & Republic, a retreat for cyclists, is in a similar situation. The event space sits just across West Huntsville Avenue from the downtown district.
"The library, the rodeo, Murphy Park and Springdale High School all are a part of downtown, even if they're not in the downtown district," Sprouse said. "But they are always a part of the conversation."
The Walton Family Foundation over the past decade has provided Springdale with grants for design and construction of the Razorback Greenway, Luther George Park, a new senior center and the city's municipal campus, which is under construction.
Neither the rodeo nor the library have received Walton grants, although the rodeo did approach the foundation informally, said Joe Rollins, president of the board for the rodeo and the Springdale Benevolent Foundation, a nonprofit that presents the rodeo each year.
"The last few years, we've been hopeful as our proposal was reviewed by different organizations," Rollins said. "But our goals for reinvention did not align with theirs. We hope we get the opportunity at some point to revisit it."
The Walton Family Foundation did not return a phone call Friday afternoon seeking comment.
Part of the story
The library had recorded 109,135 visitors in 2022 as of Wednesday, recovering slowly from the time it was closed during the pandemic, according to figures supplied by Anne Gresham, assistant library director. The library had 357,265 visitors in 2019.
The rodeo recorded attendance of 70,000 in the past year at events sponsored by the Benevolent Foundation: the annual rodeo, two demolition derbies and two carnivals. That does not include groups that rent the Rodeo Community Center for church worship, craft fairs and other events.
The library lies about a block west of the downtown district in Murphy Park.
The rodeo grounds with its Parsons Stadium sits on East Emma Avenue, across the street from the district.
Both are bounded by roads that hold major highway designations -- U.S. 71 Business and Arkansas 265, respectively.
Thompson Street at Emma sees 28,000 cars a day, and Old Missouri Road at Emma sees 20,000 cars a day, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation website.
"It's not easy to cross the street in either of those places," Christie said.
But the district will have places for the rodeo and the library as it expands, probably in the updated Downtown Master Plan currently under design with H3, an architectural firm in St. Louis, she said. Officials saw a preliminary plan in May.
Jill Dabbs, director of the Downtown Springdale Alliance, said the alliance has collaborated with both the library and rodeo for various programs, and their participation is welcomed. Dabbs said as development becomes more urban on both sides of the district, the library, rodeo, Murphy Park and even Springdale High School will be perceived as more a part of downtown.
Christie noted the city expanded the downtown development district in November 2020 with the creation of Springdale Elective Enhancement Districts.
The enhancement districts include historic neighborhoods south of Caudle Avenue along the Powell Street corridor to East Robinson Avenue and the blocks north of Huntsville Avenue along Mill Street to Sanders Avenue.
The enhancement districts allow developers to voluntarily use downtown's form-based code, instead of following traditional zoning rules, Christie said.
The design flexibility in the enhancement districts allows all structures to help complete the vision of downtown as a livable, walkable, urban community, she said. Christie expects the enhancement districts to expand again to include the library and the rodeo.
Since the city adopted the original downtown plan, the community has completed 15 projects and more than $125 million has been invested in downtown, said Tim Breihan, a principal architect with H3.
Cooperstein agreed walkability is important for a successful downtown district. He noted the walk from one end of Springdale's district to the other -- from The Jones Center to Thompson Street along Emma -- could be a trek. The distance is about 2 miles.
And projects that ultimately will connect with the rodeo and library have been completed, Christie said.
In 2019, the city installed a protected bicycle lane from Emma Avenue to North Pleasant Street. The lane followed Holcomb Street and Maple Avenue, crossing Thompson and ending at the library. The lane was installed as a year-long pilot demonstration for BikeNWA. Bollards providing protection for cyclists were removed when the project was complete, but the lane remains in place marked by paint.
Dean's Trail, a multi-use path, starts at the Jones Center and runs across the street through the rodeo grounds. Ultimately, Dean's Trail will connect with the Fayetteville trail system at Lake Fayetteville.
Land-locked library
The public library is bright with an overlook of the lake at Murphy Park, but has no space to grow, said Marcia Ransom, former director of the library. The library is surrounded by Murphy Park, Springdale High School and homes.
The library moved to its current location in 1973, when a bond issue included $75,000 for a building, according to the library's website. A federal grant helped complete the building in 1966.
In 1999-2000, the facility was doubled in size to its current 43,000 square feet.
Other improvements over the years have been funded by the library foundation, which shares oversight of the library with the city, and the city's capital improvement funds, Ransom said.
The City Council on Wednesday will discuss the estimated $1.1 million cost of closing in a patio to give the library 3,000 more square feet, which would provide space for more programs. The project also would update the library's public bathrooms.
Sprouse said money could come from the city's general budget.
Past and future
"The rodeo has historically been a part of downtown, going way back to the days of Stagecoach Inn," Rollins said. "We feel like we are a part of downtown."
The current rodeo board would like to see its facilities grow and modernize, he said.
Various board members through the years have dreamed of a modern arena with new offices, luxury boxes and a museum. They have approached local charitable foundations with these plans.
The current board will settle for destruction this fall of the east-side bleachers. The board plans to replace it with deck-style seating.
The west-side grandstand and its roof and new bucking chutes in the mid-1990s were the last major updates to the arena facility.
Leasa Wood, a circulation clerk at the Springdale Public Library, prepares books Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, to be returned to shelves at the library in Springdale. The library was not included in a planned downtown rejuvenation project. Visit nwaonline.com/220904Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)