WAC Shopping for Sites
by March 21, 2011 12:00 am 70 views
The Walton Arts Center has not disclosed any decisions about where it will locate the 2,200-seat venue it plans to develop in Bentonville.
In this issue’s story about arts projects driving development in downtown Bentonville, WAC COO Terri Trotter told Arkansas Business the new facility ideally will be built within a mile of downtown, though other sites are being considered. Trotter provided a list of proposed sites, which included a spot at 1703 E. Central Ave., a parcel near the intersection of S.E. C and 22nd streets, and one on the campus of NorthWest Arkansas Community College.
Arkansas Business picked up on another site that’s been mentioned: the old Benton County Fairgrounds, a 10-acre lot located along South Main Street between S.E. Eighth and S.E. 10th streets.
Trotter didn’t comment on the site, but it’s within a mile of downtown and hasn’t seen much action since the Benton County Fair Association moved to its new digs near the intersection of Highway 12 and County Road 566 and sold the old fairgrounds in 2007.
And who bought the old fairgrounds? That would be North Arkansas Wholesale Co. Inc., aka Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which might have a modicum of interest in the location of the new WAC.