Northwest Arkansas leaders ready to embark on new plan for growth

Four years ago, business and community leaders in Northwest Arkansas put forth a five-year plan to set the region on a path to greater prosperity. Mission nearly accomplished, at least so much that eyes have turned to developing a three-year plan aimed at building on recent successes.

Mike Malone, CEO of the influential Northwest Arkansas Council, tells Talk Business & Politics that items outlined in a January 2011 strategic report have either been completed or are "substantially underway."

"It's time to build the blueprint for what we work on as a region next," Malone said.

The "Greater Northwest Arkansas Development Strategy" report, issued four years ago, called for a variety of investments and initiatives to enhance economic development, education and health care, arts and culture, and quality of life.

Building on the powerhouse institutions in the region – Wal-Mart Stores, Tyson Foods, J.B. Hunt, and the University of Arkansas – the northwest quadrant of the state set out to lay the foundation for another generation of residents to feed those core economic engines.

Some of the January 2011 goals included more physical infrastructure aimed at roads and the regional airport (XNA), a preservation of drinking water and recreational water sources, and community vitality that improved diversity and citizen engagement. The plan also called for increasing educational access and achievement, workforce development, and the support of existing businesses and new business recruitment.

Planning for the next three years will center on similar goals, Malone says. It is likely to emphasize more "human capital" investments, but not at the expense of traditional infrastructure.

"As has always been the case in Northwest Arkansas, there will be a focus on physical infrastructure. Roads certainly still matter, the airport is critical. But the physical infrastructure also includes the availability of utilities, trails, transit, and other elements. It's an expanded definition to focus on physical infrastructure," he said.

Not all infrastructure developments will be those that move trains, planes or automobiles.

"Certainly, the human capital needs of our large, growing companies will continue to be a focus, so I think there will be some recommendations there," Malone added. "More and more as a region, quality of place and amenities matter for both talent and business attraction. We're spending more time and there's a lot more effort on what we're calling the 'experience infrastructure.' There will be some elements of that in the plan. Making sure we have great downtowns, making sure we have arts, culture and outdoor recreation offerings that professionals and our residents are looking for."

At a "State of the Northwest Arkansas Region" conference in Springdale last week, Malone and others reported on economic indicators that are differentiating the area from other parts of Arkansas and counterparts in other states.

Kathy Deck, director of the UA Walton College Center for Business and Economic Research, pointed to several statistics that have seen improvement in the last year.

Population has grown by 1.9% to 491,966 in the region. GDP has lifted by 5.6% in the last five years to $22.593 billion. The region's per capita personal income and annual wages have also risen, which has led to a small decline – 0.4% – in the area's poverty rate, which stands at 16.8%.

Unemployment in the metro region remains the lowest in the state at 4.9% in August, but employment figures have been rockier and more unpredictable. The size of the Northwest Arkansas regional workforce during August was estimated at 232,136, down from the 233,372 in July, and 0.82% below the 234,076 during August 2013.

"What we're seeing right now is that employment growth is still good, but not quite as good as it has been in Northwest Arkansas. We're seeing that the labor force is actually shrinking year over year, which doesn't jive with our sales tax revenues, it doesn't jive with our building permit information, it doesn't jive with new utility hook-ups," Deck said.

And the answer for that trend is elusive, for now.

"We're still searching for a reason that the labor force would go in a situation where the employment situation is improving," she noted.