For Hot Springs Village, dawn of a new age

Settlement rebranding, aims to lure younger set

Map showing Hot Springs Village
Map showing Hot Springs Village

HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE -- As an avid golfer, Jeff Owens fits the traditional profile of the 15,000 residents who make up the Hot Springs Village Property Owners Association.

As a 30-year-old with a growing business, an appreciation for the outdoors and two children under the age of 4, Owens also fits the profile of what the property owners association sees as its future.

Owens returned to Garland County in 2009 after graduating from Baylor University and went to work for the family business, All-American Classics. While the nine golf courses included in the 26,000-acre gated community were what initially convinced Owens to move to what locals refer to simply as "The Village," he has come to appreciate its other selling points.

"There is more than golf," Owens said. "There are tons of lakes, walking trails and parks. The cost of living is low and it's a slower pace of life than in the city [Little Rock]. There is a sense of security for my family. I can go to work, be gone all day and be convinced my wife and kids are completely safe."

Owens' description of why he chooses to live in Hot Springs Village is exactly what those who run the property owners association want to hear. Hot Springs Village was built in 1970 by Cooper Communities as a retirement community and is in the midst of a rebranding effort that began several years ago.

Today, about 1,000 students are bused from Hot Springs Village to the Jessieville or Fountain Lake school districts. Where students attend school depends on whether they live in the eastern or western portions of the community, which sits between Arkansas 5 and 7.

Executives with the property owners association want to see those numbers grow.

Sparkfire Branding, a Virginia-based marketing firm that specializes in marketing resort and retirement communities, was hired to help assess what Hot Springs Village had to offer. That effort resulted in dividing the place into nine distinct regions with names like SoBo (South of Balboa), Village Center, The Mountain and the East and West villages.

Print advertisements featuring a family on a hike overlooking a lake have been prepared to highlight the natural beauty of the area. Hot Springs Village is home to 11 lakes, 30 miles of hiking trails and two marinas.

"[T]he bones of the community are strong," Sparkfire Branding partner Jaimee Reinersten said. "The golf clubs, lakes and natural environment are stunning, and the event programming is already robust, so there's an incredible lifestyle foundation as they attract new residents with new product offerings."

Updating the image is part of the property owners association's efforts to sell 2,500 of its best lots, about 10 percent of what's available.

The Hot Springs Village Property Owners Association is setting up a real estate office with four employees just outside the gates, along Arkansas 7. Recently, an office in downtown Hot Springs was established to try to sell some of that town's 3 million annual visitors on moving to Hot Springs Village.

A $2 million renovation of the E. Fay Jones-designed DeSoto Club was recently completed. Upgrades are being made to the community's pickle ball courts and the Balboa Club is being remodeled into an art gallery.

Roark, Perkins Perry and Yelvington Architects, East Harding Construction and Crafton & Tull are working to update a master plan for Hot Springs Village. Initially the community was set up largely with subdivisions of 1/3 acre lots and single-family houses, but plans now call for varying sized lots, some intended for townhouses and other multifamily residences.

Only 8,000 houses make up the original inventory of 34,000 lots in Hot Springs Village. Setting up neighborhoods that are within walking distance of amenities and retail and restaurant options are also on the agenda for the association.

"We're less than 30 percent built. There is a lot of potential here," said Stephanie Heffer, director of Placemaking and Development for the association. "We are changing our design to rethink this development for 2017 and beyond."

Attracting more residents will require more than just marketing available space and outdoor activities.

Hot Springs Village, which sits about 50 miles from Little Rock and 20 miles from Hot Springs, has a limited selection of retail and dining options. Growth is happening just outside the community gates, particularly on the west side where Hot Springs Village Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Michael Dollar said more than 11,000 cars pass each day.

Dollar, like Heffer, sees the need for a centralized gathering place for residents. He said he is working to develop a wish-list of dining and shopping options.

With 15,000 residents, Hot Springs Village is roughly the size of Siloam Springs and Forrest City. Its $35 million operating budget is more than triple that of Forrest City and a little more than half of Siloam Springs' budget.

"We want to develop a long-term plan for success, but we want to work on the right things," Dollar said. "We don't want to develop things that nobody wants or needs."

Owens, the local businessman, is doing his part to help Hot Springs Village grow. He employs about 30 people at Community Connect Marketing, a company that grew out of his father's All-American Classics charity auction business. All-American Classics also employs about 30 people and the businesses operate silent auctions of memorabilia in 70 different cities across the United States.

Employees aren't required to live in Hot Springs Village, but Owens does what he can to sell them on a place that was once intended primarily for retirees.

"You can grow a business from just about anywhere these days," Owens said. "I see it changing with more younger families coming into the village. It's not just older people who have money and are retiring. There are more and more of us now and I expect that to continue."

SundayMonday Business on 01/22/2017

Upcoming Events