NWA growth (Little Rock, Fayetteville, Springdale: houses, purchase, construction)

[nmnita]

According to the daily paper this morning NWA is the 22nd fastest growing communty in the nation, up from 25th last year.

[Slytrix]

There are commercial and residential developments pretty much every where you go. Most people that we talked to were happy about the growth, some though, didn't like the increase in traffic. Once I told them about the 805 - 5 merge in San Diego being 25 lanes they felt better

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Slytrix

There are commercial and residential developments pretty much every where you go. Most people that we talked to were happy about the growth, some though, didn't like the increase in traffic. Once I told them about the 805 - 5 merge in San Diego being 25 lanes they felt better

interestiing isn't it? Yes, there is some nasty traffic here, but for those of us who have come from large metro areas like Los Angeles DC, Dallas, or even Kansas City, traffic here is nothing. The most positive thing,t with so much space and open fields the area can continue to grow fast and it still will not spoil the natural beauty of the area.

[Rock Climber]

Originally Posted by nmnita

interestiing isn't it? Yes, there is some nasty traffic here, but for those of us who have come from large metro areas like Los Angeles DC, Dallas, or even Kansas City, traffic here is nothing. The most positive thing,t with so much space and open fields the area can continue to grow fast and it still will not spoil the natural beauty of the area.

NWA's growth is spread into several different towns, so it isn't as intrusive. There's NOTHING here like in DFW where you see the "edge of town" be fields one year, and then two years later it's tract houses and shopping malls as far as you can see.

The developers here are smaller (nothing like the behemoths in DFW and Austin), there's a lot of "infill" and there are some pretty good and sane development happening at a reasonable pace.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Rock Climber

NWA's growth is spread into several different towns, so it isn't as intrusive. There's NOTHING here like in DFW where you see the "edge of town" be fields one year, and then two years later it's tract houses and shopping malls as far as you can see.

The developers here are smaller (nothing like the behemoths in DFW and Austin), there's a lot of "infill" and there are some pretty good and sane development happening at a reasonable pace.

I totally agree. I remember when we lived in Dallas and just watched the sub divisions shoot up: it was new one every day, with smaller and smaller lots. Then it spred into the surrounding cities.

[SluggoF16]

I don't know how y'all do it... I-49's constant state of construction, that is. I was in NWA last June, and again this weekend (16-18 June) and the construction around Garland all the way up to Bentonville just doesn't seem to progress. It's not bad weekends but it's like a mini-Dallas at 5:30 PM on Friday.


I was very much impressed with Bentonville and the Bike Rack Brewing Company and the Farmers Market. It's a far cry from what it was 15 years ago, in a good way. Some places grow in an unbridled, out-of-control manner, such as my home town outside of Phoenix, but Bentonville seems to have done the right thing.

[Rock Climber]

I work and live in Fayetteville so I am never in I-49 rush hour traffic.

The last major project, the interchange in north Fayetteville, is supposed to be done this fall sometime.

Then it should be smooth sailing for a few years, at least. I'd be ok with growth here taking a few years off, or slowing down significantly. We already have just about everything we need (except Nina's desired Trader Joe's).

The cities have managed to maintain separate identities in spite of morphing into a metropolitan area of over 500k people. I have a feeling that growth isn't slowing down here, though.

[gunslinger256]

Aldi's (parent company of Trader Joes) is reportedly expecting to expand in this country to compete at the fresh food grocery sector. I'm not sure if the Amazon purchase of Whole foods will impact the Aldi decision but if they continue with that expansion, I would not be surprised if we see changes in NWA.

The Aldi's in Rogers has already been improved but I think they could probably expand it some more.

I think it's just a matter of time before we get TJ also with the rapid growth in our area.

[nmnita]

I am afraid by the time we get Trader Joe's I will be off this earth and people will say "you remember NMNita, she was the one that waited 1/2 her life for Trader Joe's to open"

OH, BTW, Aldi's isn't the parent company for Trader Joe's, it just happens they are owned by the same family in Germany, but they are separate arms of the family. Does not really make any difference though, just wanted to get the straightened out.

Yes, the Rogers Aldi's has been expanded, still packed most of the time, especially early afternoon. The assistant manger I think she is< seems to think they will be opening another Aldi's a little further north one of these days. She thinks the top brass will realize, even with the expansion they need another one.

[golden eagles fan]

I believe in due time that the NWA area will outpace Little Rock and because the most populated metro in Arkansas. I will give about 15-20 years before it happens. It will take more time to happen, but believe Fayetteville, or even Springdale, will be larger than Little Rock itself.

What's unusual about NWA, compared to other urban areas, is having so many principal cities. The way Bella Vista is growing, that could become a fifth principal city.