Council: New housing ideas, more highway funding needed to address NWA growth

Members of the influential nonprofit Northwest Arkansas Council gathered in downtown Bentonville on Tuesday (April 9) for their spring meeting, where they discussed challenges for a region that could have 1 million residents by 2050.

Council CEO Nelson Peacock said 47 people move to Arkansas per day, 36 of them in Benton and Washington counties. He said this growth brings huge challenges that must be met so as not to compromise the regional quality of life.

The group discussed the findings of a survey, focus groups and meetings with registered voters and city and civic leaders earlier this year. The council found quality outdoor recreation was the top aspect of quality of life for 95% of the respondents. Residents also felt safe (87%), and 75% enjoyed gainful employment opportunities. At the low end, residents said roads, bridges and affordable housing were negatively impacting the quality of life in the region.

Peacock told Talk Business & Politics the research was done by a third party and the McLarty Group conducted meetings with regional leaders to understand the pain points and consider a collaborative approach to growth challenges. He said the research involved scientific polling and unscientific interviews, but the findings were similar. McLarty began its work in late 2011, and housing has been an active concern for the council since 2019.

Affordable housing continues to be a hurdle for the region, with the Fayetteville City Council recently declaring an affordable housing crisis. The problem was also high on the list of resident concerns in the Northwest Arkansas Council survey data.

THE HOUSING PROBLEM
Infill development advocate Allison Quinlan, founder and principal at Flintlock LAB in Fayetteville, spoke about the need for more density housing to accommodate growth now and in the next 20 years. An architect by trade, Quinlan specializes in urban planning and works with Groundwork, an affordable housing initiative of the Northwest Arkansas Council and other stakeholders in the region.

Peacock said the council formed the Groundwork initiative two years ago to help developers find the funding and work with city planning on zoning issues to create opportunity zones. These zones would include multifamily housing for all income levels, allowing nurses, firefighters and other professionals to live close to their jobs. Big Emma in downtown Springdale was one of those projects.

Quinlan said city leaders will have to re-think zoning rules to allow for more density that houses more people in less space. She said the region’s footprint will double in size in the next 25 years, which means the cities are only half built. To eliminate sprawl that will concrete over much of the green space the region enjoys, cities need to radically change development plans and protocols that have been in place for decades.

She said the region needs a household for every 1 or 2 people as 68% of the resident households have no children at home. Between 1950 and 2017,  the region needed to build 33% more houses for the same number of people. By 2050, she said 50% more houses will be needed for the same people.

Larger lots for big houses where 1 or 2 people reside do not make sense, according to Quinlan. She said they tax city budgets because they require infrastructure upkeep, fire and police services, and provide limited revenue growth per house. She challenged cities to stop the sprawl with new subdivision expansions of single-family units that require new streets and water and sewer infrastructure that taxes the fixed six watersheds in the two counties.

Quinlan said cities need to legalize housing that works, such as infill projects that could reduce housing costs and give more choices for families looking to relocate. She said the region must plan for the growth collaboratively, adding that growth will continue beyond 2050 and the estimated 1 million residents. She said without a mind-change about density the region risks losing much of its outdoor green spaces.

“We are going to have to do things in ways we have not done in any of our memories. It will take collaboration and embracing density in ways you have not been thinking. We can build places we don’t want to leave,” she said.

CONGESTION, HIGHWAY PROJECTS
Another pain point for the region is growing traffic congestion. Philip Taldo, vice chairman of the Arkansas Highway Commission, spoke to the group about road expansion projects on tap for the next few years. Between now and 2027, he said the state has $2 billion in funding but has 900 projects totaling $24 billion.

Among the top projects under construction in the region are the Highway 112 and Highway 412 Springdale bypass to Highway 612 on the west side of Interstate 49 which will cost $180.8 million and is expected to be complete by mid-2026. Also, the new connector road from Highway 612 to the Northwest Arkansas National Airport is expected to open in mid-2027 and cost $127.7 million.

The $37.6 million interchange improvement at Wedington Drive and I-49 is under construction and will be finished by the end of the year. Taldo said the new bridge will carry 8 lanes of traffic, four in each direction and improve traffic flow at the business intersections on each side of I-49. Also starting this summer, interchange improvements will begin at the MLK and I-49 exit in south Fayetteville, with an estimated cost between $75 million and $100 million.

Also on tap, the 8-mile Highway 112 Corridor from Tontitown to Pleasant Grove Road in Rogers will be built in three phases and begin construction early next year. The total cost is between $135 million and $180 million for the 8 miles. Taldo said the Highway 112 Corridor Project is a multi-year undertaking, but it will include offset lanes on each side of the highway for pedestrians and bikers from Fayetteville to Bentonville. Also next year, a 3-mile connector road will be built between West Highway 412 near the Lowell-Springdale line to Highway 265 in Springdale at an estimated cost between $200 million to 250 million.

AMENITIES
Peacock said the region does have positive things in place. He said officials in the region continue to focus on art and entertainment to enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors.

Rod Bigelow, executive director of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, spoke about ongoing growth and expansion projects at the Bentonville museum. He said founder Alice Walton challenged them to think about how the museum might look in 50 years.

Bigelow said when the museum opened in 2011 it welcomed 500,000 visitors. Last year that number jumped to 1.4 million for Crystal Bridges and The Momentary, a sister arts venue in downtown Bentonville. He said the expansion is on time and budget and will be completed in the first half of 2026.

He said the Heartland Whole Heath Institute will open by the end of the year. The expansion will include 13,000 square feet of education space, room for artisan residencies and a splash park onsite for families.

About 30 regional business leaders, including Sam Walton, Don Tyson, Mark Simmons and J.B. Hunt, founded the Northwest Arkansas Council in 1990. Their idea was to work together to advance the regional economy. The council partners with stakeholders across the region, state, and nation in priority areas, including workforce development, infrastructure improvement, talent recruitment, education and healthcare.