Master Plan for Arvest Ballpark Area Re-emerges

Nearly five years after it was first unveiled, the master plan for the 1,100 acres surrounding Arvest Ballpark in Springdale is finally headed to city officials for consideration.

Prepared by Dallas-based Hodges and Associates Architecture, the plan provides for an upscale, mixed-use area that includes residential, hospitality, office and retail.

“We need to create something out there that’s regionally significant,” Hodges principal Charles Hodges said. He hinted the master plan has gained the attention of investors.

“We’re starting to hear the word ‘Springdale’ among retailers, and that’s a change,” Hodges said. “For the last 20 years, the only word they knew how to spell was ‘Rogers.’”

City officials will be asked to approve an overlay, drafted as an ordinance, for the area west of Interstate 540 and south of U.S. 412 inside the Springdale city limits. The overlay would supersede the archaic zoning now in place, Hodges said.

If all goes to plan, the overlay could be in place sometime this fall, said Perry Webb, president and CEO of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce. The overlay addresses major issues such as drainage and infrastructure to minute details such as sign height and lighting.

Features of the plan include public art, trails, waterways based on drainage, and a uniform building aesthetic.

Thursday’s meeting included members of the planning commission, the Springdale City Council and landowners.

The Hodges master plan re-emerges as work continues on the exit at Don Tyson Parkway. Expected to be completed as early as this time next year, the new exit is expected to expose the Arvest area to development.

While there are about 150 landowners within the proposed overlay, a few — Gary George of George’s Inc., real estate broker Philip Taldo, and the Tyson family — have significant holdings adjacent to the ballpark.