SPRINGDALE -- Downtown Springdale's revitalization got a boost Friday after Tyson Foods donated $1 million to the effort and announced it's moving workers back to Emma Avenue.
"Springdale is not just about our past. Springdale is about our future," Donnie Smith, president and chief executive officer of Tyson, told a crowd of more than 800 people at the Springdale Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting held at the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center.
At A Glance
Award winners
The Springdale Chamber of Commerce presented two awards during its annual banquet Friday.
• Civic Service Award: Kathy McFetridge
• Ambassador of the Year: Rocky Steele
Source: Staff Report
At A Glance
Building history
Tyson Foods announced Friday it’s moving its employment center and company store to a building it purchased last year at 516 E. Emma Ave. in downtown Springdale. The building was constructed in the 1930s as a terminal for Jones Truck Lines. It was once home to the Springdale Morning News and most recently was an Orscheln Farm & Home store.
Source: Staff Report
The Springdale-based company started on Emma Avenue 80 years ago and later this summer will open its employment center and company store at 516 E. Emma Ave. The building will be named the Tyson Foods JTL Building in recognition of its original use as a Jones Truck Lines terminal in the 1930s.
Linda Wray, Tyson's vice president of compensation and recognition, said renovation plans for the 28,000-square-foot building are pending, and she wouldn't say how much the project is expected to cost. Tyson purchased the building in June for $450,000.
The company plans to move about 25 employees to the center and will have a stream of job applicants traveling downtown, Wray said.
"We believe bringing employees downtown is just as important as the monetary gift," she said.
Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse echoed that sentiment.
"The $1 million gift speaks for itself; it's a great help to the revitalization efforts," he said. "But when you are talking about a facility that is bringing jobs downtown, that is something that will continue to provide opportunities for more and more support businesses to open."
Tyson also owns two additional buildings downtown: the original Tyson headquarters at 319 E. Emma Ave., and the Brown building at 317 E. Emma, which it purchased from the city last year. Smith said those buildings will also be renovated and bring even more employees downtown. Wray said company officials are looking at ways to use the buildings, but wouldn't provide details.
The donation will help the Downtown Springdale Alliance meet its goals much quicker, said Lisa Ray, the group's vice chairman. The alliance is a nonprofit group. Ray said the alliance has a $20 million plan and believed it would take about 20 years to fulfill.
"We're going to be able to accomplish things faster than planned," she said.
Ray wouldn't say how much money is in the alliance's budget, but called the balance healthy.
The group is working on its 2015 budget, and early plans include a comprehensive downtown plan and eventually hiring an executive director.
The alliance hired Daniel Hintz, owner of Velocity Group, to help outline the group's mission. Hintz worked as executive director of Fayetteville Downtown Partners and Downtown Bentonville Inc. before starting his consulting firm.
Hintz said it takes dedicated people and capital to revitalize a downtown, adding that's now happening in Springdale.
"People are starting to believe that story in Springdale," he said.
New businesses have moved downtown in anticipation of increased foot traffic, Hintz said, pointing to renovation work at the Apollo. The former theater at 308 W. Emma Ave. is being turned into an event center.
Ray said trails and a new park will draw people. The Razorback Greenway, a 36-mile trail stretching from Fayetteville to Lake Bella Vista, runs through downtown and the new Walter Turnbow Park.
A $493,000 Care Foundation grant paid the first phase of work on the park, said Patsy Christie, city director of planning and community development. She said Tyson also donated $100,000 to raze a building on Mill Street.
Turnbow Park's next phase includes uncapping a creek and will be paid for with a $2 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation.
Christie said a grand opening for the greenway and park is planned for early May.
NW News on 01/24/2015