After tornado, NWA broker sees potential for modernized Walnut Street corridor in Rogers

In the early morning of May 26, storms and tornadoes devastated Northwest Arkansas, severely impacting hundreds of families, homes and businesses. The Walnut Street (U.S. Highway 71 Business) corridor in Rogers was particularly hard hit.

Dan Smith, a commercial real estate broker for Colliers Arkansas in Rogers, witnessed extensive damage to residential areas while inspecting a commercial property the company manages there. Like all the regional commercial real estate brokerages, the Colliers property management team has been working overtime with tenants and landlords in the storm’s aftermath.

Smith is a specialist in land brokerage and multifamily properties. Since becoming a commercial real estate broker in 2009, he has gained extensive experience in various asset types, managing dispositions for multiple lenders during the recession in North Carolina’s Raleigh-Durham area. His experience in Northwest Arkansas covers land entitlement, zoning, utilities, floodplains, multifamily housing and residential density.

Smith noted that many people have lost their homes and will need assistance finding new places to live in an already constrained housing market.

“This storm will affect the development pattern for years to come while insurance claims go through, businesses and buildings get redeveloped, and some homes may not get rebuilt, others may come back in much different form,” he explained.

Smith noted that Rogers is revising its zoning ordinance from a Euclidean-based code to a form-based code. The revision is scheduled to take effect in June, but that timeline may now be in question.

Euclidean zoning separates land uses into distinct areas — residential, commercial, retail, industrial etc. — and is the country’s most common zoning method. It is often linked to suburban development patterns and has been the primary tool for controlling land use in large cities and small towns throughout the 20th century. It continues to be widely used today.

“The Walnut Street corridor was developed between the 1970s and 1990s and is a typical vehicular-based design with retail around 400 feet deep on both sides of the street (car washes, fast food, freestanding retail, and a high vacancy mall) and single-family neighborhoods behind it,” Smith said. “28,000 vehicles per day traffic count. No mix of uses. There are some areas where 2-3 unit per-acre single-family residences are adjacent to retail uses, but just because something is adjacent doesn’t mean it is designed to work together.”

Smith envisions a future where the Walnut Street corridor’s redevelopment is modernized, potentially bringing new life and opportunities to the area. The new zoning code could catalyze the transformation, offering a more efficient and effective framework for development.

POSTPONEMENTS
In the aftermath of the May 26 storms, acknowledging and empathizing with the region’s suffering took precedence over numerous previously scheduled events.

PB2 Architecture and Engineering, one of the region’s most prominent architectural and engineering firms, canceled a May 30 open house and ribbon cutting at its new Rogers headquarters. A few months ago, the company relocated from Ajax Avenue along Interstate 49 into about 24,500 square feet in a new office building in The District at Pinnacle Hills development along West Pauline Whitaker Parkway.

“Our building had some roof membrane damage that resulted in a few leaks and wet carpet, but that was the extent of damage,” said Doug Hurley, the company president and owner. “My hope is [that] those impacted are OK, with as minimal property damage as possible.”

PB2 has about 175 employees. Hurley said the open house and ribbon cutting will be held June 26 from 4-7 p.m.

General contractor Nabholz Corp. also decided to postpone a “client and community appreciation” cookout on May 30 at its downtown Rogers office on North Second Street. Instead, the company is focusing on providing aid to those affected by the storms.

“We will be rescheduling, but that date has not yet been determined,” the company said in a statement. “Our team is dedicating resources to support the relief efforts.”

The cookout was part of the company’s 75th anniversary milestone. Nabholz is headquartered in Conway but has a significant presence in Northwest Arkansas. The company ranks No. 1 on this year’s list of the region’s Largest Commercial Contractors, which was published in the current issue of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal.