OPINION

OPINION | REX NELSON: The sweet life


It's fitting that Shelley Short, president and CEO of the Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance, is ordering something sweet with her coffee during our meeting at JavaPrimo in downtown Arkadelphia. After all, Short's organization has been proclaiming that this part of the state offers "the sweet life."

That campaign is based on the fact that Hostess Brands LLC is spending $140 million to transform a former industrial facility south of Arkadelphia into the world's most modern bakery. The 330,000-square-foot facility is expected to be operational this fall and bring more than 150 jobs to the area.

Hostess makes snacks ranging from Donettes and Twinkies to CupCakes and Ding Dongs. Donettes mini doughnuts will be the first item to come off the line. Hostess has also introduced products with names such as Bouncers and Kazbars. Due to the company's current growth mode, industry insiders expect multiple products eventually will be produced at the bakery.

During a visit to Clark County last fall, then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson said: "The company's selection of Clark County speaks volumes about the confidence it has in the area's business climate and workforce."

Despite serious financial problems experienced by Henderson State University in recent years (the subject of my previous two columns), there's optimism in Arkadelphia these days. Such economic optimism is unusual in the south half of the state, where counties are losing population. Short left a job at the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce in Little Rock last year to become Clark County's chief economic developer.

Area business and civic leaders were crushed at the start of the pandemic in March 2020 when it was announced that Sun Bio wouldn't build the $1.8 billion paper mill that had been announced with great fanfare four years earlier. The project was to be located just southwest of the intersection of U.S. 67 and Arkansas 26. Sun Bio, part of the Chinese-owned Shandong Sun Paper Co., had hoped to make boxes used for deliveries by companies such as Amazon and FedEx.

Since then, however, these same business and civic leaders have realized that the Sun Bio effort forced them to piece together a so-called economic supersite with easy access to Interstate 30. Because the Sun Bio project received national attention, site selectors are familiar with Clark County. Short believes a company, perhaps one related to the timber industry, will land there.

"As I looked at communities across the state, I noticed an area in southwest Arkansas that was ripe for capital investment and population growth," Short says. "There seems to be a renewed sense of community here. We've seen the growth in Saline County in recent decades, and that growth continues to migrate down the Interstate 30 corridor.

"If there has been a problem here, it has been a lack of coordination. Now we have everybody--city government, county government, the chamber of commerce, the universities--pulling in the same direction. All the due diligence on that 1,000-acre site has been done. The water system has been extended. County voters passed a sales tax that allows us to provide incentives. We're ready to go with a supersite. Not many places can say that."

Just down the road from the Hostess bakery in the community of Gum Springs, Veolia announced a $600 million expansion that will create 125 jobs. The French-owned company breaks down hazardous waste materials through thermal treatment. It's the first such plant to be built in the United States in almost a decade. A company document says it will be the most advanced, environmentally efficient facility of its kind.

At a groundbreaking ceremony last fall, Veolia North America CEO Fred Van Heems said: "Veolia is committed to solving great environmental challenges so we can leave a better planet for our children. Once this facility is completed in 2024, it will transform the hazardous-waste industry so that people will think of it as before Gum Springs and after Gum Springs. This is an example of ecological transformation in action."

The Arkadelphia area is also experiencing something that hasn't been seen in decades here--new residential developments.

Along the banks of the Caddo River near Caddo Valley, Derek Franklin is developing Caddo Paddock. Franklin grew up in Arkadelphia, graduated from Ouachita Baptist University, and later moved to Little Rock so his wife could attend pharmacy school. The couple lived in the Little Rock area from May 2008 until August 2020 when they moved to Arkadelphia.

"With two colleges, Interstate 30, DeGray Lake, the Caddo River and the Ouachita River, I think this area is the state's best-kept secret," Franklin says. "My vision for Caddo Paddock is to provide lot owners with a place where enjoyable experiences can occur."

He expects lots ranging in price from $150,000 to $299,000 to be purchased by those looking to build primary residences and those who want to construct rental investment properties.

The other new residential development, with neighborhoods known as North Ridge Estates and South Ridge Crossing, is being built by Nicky Goff and Kyle Smith. Both neighborhoods will be in the Arkadelphia city limits. North Ridge Estate's first phase will include 23 lots. The two neighborhoods will cover 234 acres.

"It has been 40 years since we've had new home construction options," Goff says. "I hope this contributes to the next growth opportunity in Arkadelphia."


Senior Editor Rex Nelson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He's also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.


Upcoming Events