Bentonville launches Quilt of Parks project.
By Dwain Hebda
Anyone who has visited Bentonville over the past 15 years has no doubt noticed the pristine landscaped spots around town that hug the booming development here. City leaders are predicting a new project soon to launch will add even more amenities to this scenic Northwest Arkansas community.
Bentonville Parks and Recreation’s Quilt of Parks Project will connect the city’s parks with new greenspace, plazas and gardens via a pedestrian-friendly promenade running through the center of town. The new walkway will be closed to vehicular traffic and lined with garden nooks, cafe seating, play areas and food trucks.
David Wright, Bentonville parks and recreation director, said the finished corridor will serve several purposes, not the least of which is helping the city manage its many community events more efficiently.
“Downtown Bentonville has really become the epicenter for public events in Northwest Arkansas,” he said. “You have the Bentonville Film Festival, all these cycling festivals and races, the Bentonville Half Marathon, first Fridays and the farmers market events. All these events were taking place on the square, which is the center of trade in our community, the epicenter of our town and the personality of Bentonville.
The A Street Promenade plan will either expand Dave Peel Park at its current location or move it to what is now the Second Street parking lot to make room for an event space.
“But that also meant we were taking events that attract 10,000 people and we were cramming them into a quarter of an acre. We started thinking about how nice it would be to, instead of having five public spaces in downtown Bentonville, to have one solid space that weaves together like a quilt, where you’re just moving from one part of downtown to another.”
From these initial conversations in 2017, a plan was ultimately passed by the Bentonville city council in 2020 to convert NE A and SE A streets from vehicular traffic to pedestrian-only, directly connecting three city parks and running within a block or less of two more along the route. The A Street Promenade also features Bentonville landmarks, including Compton Gardens, the Razorback Greenway, Lawrence Plaza, 21C Museum and Hotel, the Benton County Courthouse, Dave Peel Park and the Bentonville Square.
Wright said the new plan was heartily received by residents as a bold and innovative feature that will greatly enhance the livability of the community.
“I will tell you that locally our citizens are very excited,” he said. “In my 15 years here, I’ve been invited to come talk to different groups about park openings and that kind of stuff, but I’ve never seen the excitement that I have with this project. People are excited about what it’s going to do for our events, about the new events that it can bring to our downtown, but also just the experience in downtown on, like, a random Tuesday night.”
The business community has been equally enthusiastic about the new plan. Two hotels will open right into the promenade space, and there’s been other interest from entrepreneurs and developers looking to place shops and restaurant downtown.
The new event space would include quiet garden rooms off the main event lawn.
“While the Parks and Rec Department is managing this project and it certainly is going to give you a park-like feel when it’s all done, this is really an economic development project,” Wright said. “I’m already hearing rumors of some of the stuff that’s going on at the south end and it’s exciting to hear about the investment that will really turn this into one of the premier promenades in the country.”
Project leadership hopes to break ground on the ambitious project, to be built in stages, in mid- to late summer with an eye on completion in early 2025. Total cost for the improvements, which will include extensive renovations to two of the city parks along the route, is expected to be $20 million.
“When you look at the ROI from our investment in our public spaces downtown, it’s really easy to see the return,” Wright said. “We’re investing in spaces for people because we know that businesses will come in behind it. Our body of work proves that; we’ve seen it happen in downtown already.
“We know people are moving here for our bike trails. We know people are moving here because of our investments in public recreation; that has been a really good model for us. Our approach to economic development is to attract new residents because with that comes jobs and businesses and everything else. I think this project really leans into that.”
Read more about the new promenade at quiltofparks.com.