Centerton, ULI seeks planning, design firm

The city of Centerton, in partnership with the Northwest Arkansas chapter of Urban Land Institute (ULI NWA), is looking for a qualified planning and design firm to lead the creation of a downtown master plan for the city, according to a news release.

The plan is expected to build on the vision for the “city’s historic Old Town district and a new town center south of Centerton Boulevard, with a focus on placemaking, mixed-use development, infrastructure strategy, and floodplain-sensitive design,” the release notes.

“We’re excited to launch this process and invite top planning and design professionals to help us imagine what’s next for downtown Centerton,” said Mayor Bill Edwards. “This is an opportunity to both honor our history and plan for the kind of community our future residents will be proud to call home.”

The selected firm will be responsible for community engagement, visioning, zoning and regulatory recommendations, infrastructure and mobility strategies, and implementation planning.

Following are the three priority areas:

• Old Town revitalization: adaptive reuse, community character, infrastructure upgrades, and sensitive floodplain integration.
• New town center visioning: planning for a walkable, mixed-use district in partnership with key landowners.
• Downtown connectivity: physical, visual, and cultural connections between Old Town and new town, including trails, crossings and shared identity.

Interested firms can email a statement of qualifications in PDF format to Megan Brown, director of operations at ULI NWA, at megan.brown@uli.org. The deadline to send qualifications is 5 p.m. May 23. Finalist interviews will take place June 9–10, and the project is slated to start by June 30.