SPRINGDALE -- City leaders want to know how residents, merchants and visitors live, work and play in the city's downtown.
A survey is open on Downtown Springdale's website asking residents, businesses and visitors to downtown how to move forward with the city's Downtown Master Plan.
Downtown Springdale, a nonprofit agency formed in 2011, works to bring businesses to the storefronts, customers to the stores and diverse people to downtown through unique events and amenities, said Jill Dabbs, executive director.
Downtown Springdale already has planned public input sessions on the master plan in March and May.
In October, the city contracted with H3 Studio, an urban design consultant in St. Louis, to update the downtown plan. H3 created the city's first downtown master plan in 2015.
City officials expect the updated plan by August.
The city, the Walton Family Foundation and the Tyson Foundation each will pay one-third of the cost, about $34,000 each, said Patsy Christie, the city's director of planning.
The Walton foundation also will pay $30,000 to ensure community engagement in the plan, allowing H3 and Downtown Springdale to attract input from Springdale's diverse communities, Christie said. The creation of the 2015 plan also included community participation.
"Part of the city's idea is to make downtown more inclusive," said Jeff Cooperstein, senior research assistant at the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas. "One way to be inclusive is to include the people in the decisions.
"The idea of a plan is to try to help intelligent development to happen," Cooperstein said. "You want things to work together."
Dabbs agreed.
"The downtown urban area is like a puzzle," she said. "Every piece matters."
Downtown has great "bones," Dabbs continued.
"We don't have a square downtown, but we have a creek and a Greenway -- and those are great assets to have.
"We have an airport, a rodeo and The Jones Center," she said. "We have everything but a square."
Dabbs said the work of the update also will let city leaders reflect on the successes of downtown during the last five or six years.
Restaurants have opened on Emma Avenue and fed residents, even during the covid-19 pandemic, she said. New shops reported record sales during the Christmas season. Artisans see the area becoming an enclave for them. More than 100 people call downtown home in new apartments and refurbished loft units.
The promises of a renovated Luther George Park and the Jones Center keep excitement high, she said. And the city has expanded its downtown zoning to include areas of historic homes north and south of Emma Avenue.
"We can look at what we've accomplished, and that can inspire what we do next," Dabbs said.
More, more, more
Cindy Mix, Vikki Marshall, Beth Nollenberger, Linda Williams are among those who meet at the city's Senior Center at 2 p.m. most days and walk west on Emma. Earlier this month, they stopped along the way and discussed the murals on buildings at Emma and South Main streets.
And they had opinions about the present and future of downtown.
They suggested handicap parking, and they want the city to clean up the homes in neighborhoods near Emma. They like the murals, and they like the new shops -- but they want more.
"Everybody needs to buy local," said Mix, who reported buying Christmas gifts for all her clients from Milk and Sugar Bath Co., a shop on Emma featuring homemade soaps.
The stores need regular hours "so we'll know when they're open," the ladies agreed.
Most stores are open at 11 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Milk and Sugar Bath was closed for a week this month. Leigh Waycaster Pronia, the store's owner, noted she is a "one-man show" and when she needs time away, she must close the store.
She said her business grew after selling her products in local craft fairs. The store opened on Feb. 29, 2020, three weeks before businesses across Northwest Arkansas shut down because of covid-19. Milk and Sugar Bath reopened in July in a larger space.
"Business has been great," Waycaster Pronia said. "Each month our business has grown. The locals have really shown up."
She said she has a dedicated group of shoppers among Springdale teachers and nurses. She would like to see more boutique shops on Emma.
"I really see downtown Springdale emerging as a makers, artistic area," she said.
She said she enjoys and appreciates the art installations and monthly Art Walks, sponsored by Downtown Springdale.
But some shops are closing on Emma.
The Avenue, a fair trade store, has closed due to "pandemic factors," Dabbs said.
Cellar Door Antiques closed its doors after Christmas as the owner of 13 years, Joy Parker, decided to retire.
"I went with the surges, up and down" of downtown business, Parker said this month.
She reported increased foot traffic. "I had the best holiday season I'd ever had," she said.
Parker noted her son owns the historic building at 132 W. Emma Ave., and a baby store plans to use the space. She thinks the downtown district needs still more retail and more restaurants.
"What they've got is great, but they need more," she said.
Dabbs noted five spaces are available for rent along Emma, with a few more to come in the spring with the opening of Via Emma, a residential-commercial development by Blue Crane Development Group.
Options
The updated downtown plan will include housing options, Christie said.
"With the first master plan, we knew we'd have to address housing -- development, density, different types and what's in the best interests of the city. All kinds of housing can be an economic driver," she said.
With the approval of the 2015 Master Plan, the city adopted the form-based code instead of regular zoning for downtown. The form-based code emphasizes making sure the buildings in a neighborhood fit in with their surroundings, rather than regulating the allowable uses of those buildings.
"The idea of a master plan is for the city to have a vision of what they want the area to look like and make it clear," said Cooperstein, the UA research assistant. "Rather than submitting changes, the developer gets the city's permission to go immediately ahead with product that doesn't meet design in other parts of the city. And time is money in development."
Christie noted the use of the form-based code downtown has allowed for different types of housing development, including a mix of residential and commercial in the same footprint. Two such mixed-use complexes are under construction, and two already are homes for college students, police officers, teachers, young professionals and the elderly, Dabbs said.
The form-based code allows residents to develop living space in carriage houses or over large garages -- left over from the heyday of the downtown area. These can provide an affordable place to live for a renter and a small income for the home's owner, Christie said.
"They provide a place for seniors wanting to downsize, but who want to stay in the neighborhood where they've lived most of their adult life," Dabbs said. "They can age in place and stay connected to their community."
The city has since widened the voluntary use of the form-based code to include the historic residential areas on Mill and Powell streets.
The entire downtown area as well as the surrounding residential neighborhoods were identified as economic opportunity zones by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and the secretary of the U.S. Treasury. Developers can receive tax incentives for developing in these areas.
[POLL: Tell us how you interact with downtown Springdale and how the area could improve]
Dabbs said developers could create all types of affordable housing.
"We already have areas of integrated affordable, accessible housing in the residential areas around downtown," Dabbs said. "But the neighborhoods around downtown are tired. But they are great areas, and I expect them to get a facelift or design upgrade over time."
A wayfinding sign stands Friday, Jan. 14, 2022, on Emma Avenue near Shiloh Square in downtown Springdale. Downtown Springdale has put together a public survey about the Downtown Master Plan for the city. Visit nwaonline.com/220116Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
Pedestrians walk Friday, Jan. 14, 2022, along Emma Avenue in downtown Springdale. Downtown Springdale has put together a public survey about the Downtown Master Plan for the city. Visit nwaonline.com/220116Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)Take the survey