ACHE officially opens a new building in its Heritage Village development

Officials with the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE) and have officially opened another large commercial space in the Heritage Village area adjacent to the Fort Smith-based osteopathic college.

Heritage Village, which is part of more than 500 acres on the ACHE campus, represents a more than $45 million investment by the college to provide services and living space for students, faculty and area residents.

“This mixed-use development promises to redefine community living, blending housing, shopping, dining, and retail within a walkable environment. Nestled on the expansive campus of the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE), Heritage’s inauguration began with the unveiling of its first building in 2019, followed by the second in 2020,” noted an ACHE statement.

Businesses located in Heritage Village include Card + Cloth, Chasen Garrett Architects, Heritage Group Real Estate Co., Las Americas Restaurant, Luxe Beauty Bar, Nailology, Olive Coffee Company, Parker Chiropractic & Wellness, and Vargas Fruteria. A pizza restaurant in the Village has closed, but ACHE officials say BluPoint Seafood & Steak, owned by Trey Goodman, Cole Goodman, Dan Comstock, and Spencer Wiley, will open in the spring of 2024.

The ACHE is comprised of the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (ARCOM), and the College of Health Sciences, which is home to the ACHE School of Physical Therapy and the ACHE School of Occupational Therapy.

ACHE was formed when Fort Smith-based Degen Foundation used part of $70 million from the sale of Sparks Health System in November 2009 to what was then Naples, Fla.-based Health Management Associates to build the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (ARCOM) at Chaffee Crossing. The $32.4 million college and its 103,000 square feet is now home to more than 700 medical students and 230 faculty and staff.