[Darbro]

I didn't see your response to his post until I had already posted to him. I just assumed what he said was true.

[ArkansasTgirl]

Originally Posted by Darbro

I didn't see your response to his post until I had already posted to him. I just assumed what he said was true.

Why would they do all this for Mitsubishi and then chase Toyota out?
Mitsubishi incentives include $585,000 from Fort Smith chamber | The City Wire
Fort Smith board approves Mitsubishi incentives; overrides tax credit veto | The City Wire

They don't just give those plants out
Mississippi Wins Battle for Toyota Plant : NPR

I haven't heard anything about IBM locating anything here. It would be nice if they did but it would be a surprise for me.

[jenni-b]

oh, Summit Mall! I thought it was just going to be a regular mall, not a superduper one. I have to agree about Simon's neglect of McCain Mall. it's in a great location with an already-established customer base and could be a MUCH nicer place than it is.

(it's a Target where University Mall was, not a WalMart. yay close-to-me Target! I wish it was a SuperTarget, though.)

[thewizard16]

Originally Posted by jenni-b

oh, Summit Mall! I thought it was just going to be a regular mall, not a superduper one. I have to agree about Simon's neglect of McCain Mall. it's in a great location with an already-established customer base and could be a MUCH nicer place than it is.

(it's a Target where University Mall was, not a WalMart. yay close-to-me Target! I wish it was a SuperTarget, though.)

Summit was going to be a large mall, but I don't remember how bigger it was going to be than University.
At any rate, he was talking about a Walmart being where Summit was going to be. Kinda funny that the sites for two different failed malls (one existing and one proposed) are now home to a Target and a Walmart.

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by FriendlyFeller

Fort Smith did not turn down a Toyota plant.

They spent millions to get Mitsubishi power systems to locate here.

IBM I don't even know where he's getting some of this stuff.

They did chase a river casino out of town.

So the Toyota plant thing never happened? A friend of mine when I lived in Fort Smith told me the city turned down a Toyota plant sometime back in the late '80s-early '90s. This same person told me they also turned down IBM around the same time.

One thing I know for a fact is there was originally a proposed theme park where Ben Geren park currently is, but both the city residents and the government were dead set against that because they didn't want to have to deal with the tourist traffic. Like the Indian casino, that would have been excellent for tourism in Fort Smith, which is great untapped potential for the town.

[jenni-b]

there's a Walmart where Summit was going to be?

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by thewizard16

Summit was going to be a large mall, but I don't remember how bigger it was going to be than University.
At any rate, he was talking about a Walmart being where Summit was going to be. Kinda funny that the sites for two different failed malls (one existing and one proposed) are now home to a Target and a Walmart.

Summit was proposed at 1.3 million square feet. University was estimated to be around 550,000 sq feet if I remember correctly. It was the same size as Park Plaza, which is also in the 500,000 range. Summit was going to be over double the size of University.

Originally Posted by jenni-b

there's a Walmart where Summit was going to be?

Yes. The Shackleford Crossings shopping center was built on the land that was supposed to be Summit Mall.

[ArkansasTgirl]

Originally Posted by bchris02

So the Toyota plant thing never happened? A friend of mine when I lived in Fort Smith told me the city turned down a Toyota plant sometime back in the late '80s-early '90s. This same person told me they also turned down IBM around the same time.

One thing I know for a fact is there was originally a proposed theme park where Ben Geren park currently is, but both the city residents and the government were dead set against that because they didn't want to have to deal with the tourist traffic. Like the Indian casino, that would have been excellent for tourism in Fort Smith, which is great untapped potential for the town.

I was wondering if it was something that happened a long time ago.

I don't see where you are going with this. Do you just want to say "Ah-ha I got you".

They may have able to turn down a Toyota plant in the late eighties but right now you would probably have to put up a fight to even be considered.

The town has been stagnant for the last twenty years or so. You don't want anything good for Fort Smith though. You just want to point out how the ole boys are inbred and stupid and will never do anything right. NWA and Little Rock are better but just barely, when it comes right down to it they are pretty much bumkins too.

[thewizard16]

Originally Posted by jenni-b

there's a Walmart where Summit was going to be?

Yes, the new supercenter opened in late January, "replacing" the Bowman Walmart, which is now closed. The Bowman property will be redeveloped into a small-format supercenter (originally the buzz was this was going to be a neighborhood market, but that has apparently changed), tentatively scheduled to open in late 2012 or early 2013. If you haven't been out to Shackleford Crossings, it's pretty nice for a "power center"; JC Penny, Gordman's, Haverty's, and Babies R Us are the biggest anchors I can think of out there, and it has a Copeland's, Texas Roadhouse, Cracker Barrel, and various other restaurants and stores. Honestly, the layout is very similar to many outdoor malls, but it lacks a few things that most malls have which keeps it as just a shopping center in my book. The new supercenter is one of the nicer looking ones I've seen and it anchors the far south end of the center, next to a couple hotels.

[ArkansasTgirl]

Originally Posted by thewizard16

Yes, the new supercenter opened in late January, "replacing" the Bowman Walmart, which is now closed. The Bowman property will be redeveloped into a small-format supercenter (originally the buzz was this was going to be a neighborhood market, but that has apparently changed), tentatively scheduled to open in late 2012 or early 2013. If you haven't been out to Shackleford Crossings, it's pretty nice for a "power center"; JC Penny, Gordman's, Haverty's, and Babies R Us are the biggest anchors I can think of out there, and it has a Copeland's, Texas Roadhouse, Cracker Barrel, and various other restaurants and stores. Honestly, the layout is very similar to many outdoor malls, but it lacks a few things that most malls have which keeps it as just a shopping center in my book. The new supercenter is one of the nicer looking ones I've seen and it anchors the far south end of the center, next to a couple hotels.

Umm... that isn't Fort Smith you are talking about.