Your Arkansas

MARCH 2011

LIVING
WEEKEND GETAWAY
HOT SPRINGS

60 YEARS OF SERVICE
CHARITY BALL

VERN YIP OF HGTV CHANNEL

TALKS RETAIL DESIGN

NAVIGATING THE CHOPPY

HOLLYWOOD WATERS
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285$5.$16$6
- BRIAN UMBERSON’S -
Arkansas State of Mine
Little Atlanta
I
n my previous articles, I have painted the picture of our recent
transformation and detailed the economic diversity and growth
that has set Jonesboro and Paragould apart from other cities. In
recent years, Jonesboro and Paragould have transformed from indus-
trial towns into diverse economies that now comprise the Jonesboro
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), a retail hub that is recycling
commercial tax receipts to create a more healthy regional economy.
I was born and raised in Fayetteville and my job has moved me from
Little Rock to Atlanta to Memphis and I travelled with my job
to many different cities. I have witnessed the successful cities like
Atlanta grow and transform into different phases of growth sectors.
Most cities like Memphis grow in a single sector but stagnate later
when that sector slows and there is not a diversity of growth sectors
to keep the momentum moving forward.
The Jonesboro Metro area has continued to grow through various
sectors like a microcosm of Atlanta. The Jonesboro MSA has diverse
manufacturing with a unique blend of headquarters and local owner-
ship. The metro area has become a regional hub for medical and
retail services. Jonesboro has been a beacon of growth and progress
just like Atlanta…but on a much smaller scale.
As we speak, the growth and progress continue to set our “Little
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Atlanta” up for success. Our retail and medical sectors continue to
blossom and we have added alternative energy via a German wind-
mill manufacturer. The consistent growth speaks for itself as the
Jonesboro MSA was named one of the top 10 small metropolitan
areas in the South in the annual “Southern Business & Development
100” based on notable projects announced in each metropolitan area
over the last 10 years.
Recently, I sat down with Joshua Brown CCIM of Haag Brown
Commercial, one of the leaders of our recent growth and progress,
to discuss where we are and where we are going. Haag Brown has
been instrumental in landing recent commitments Red Lobster and
Longhorn’s Steakhouse.
“The Red Lobster and Longhorn’s Steakhouse have added a splash
of excitement to Stadium Boulevard,” said Brown. The Red Lobster
and Longhorn Steakhouse are the front outparcels of a planned
retail center that will sit behind them.
“We are getting more calls from National restaurants and retailers
than ever before,” said Brown as he pointed to two aerial photo-
graphs in his office lobby. “These aerials were flown about 8 months
ago. They represent the 20 acres where Red Lobster and Longhorn’s
are now sitting, and of the Highway 49 North area where the new
health care campus is being built. I framed the aerials because they
will be unrecognizable in 2 years. No one will remember the earlier
landscape of the area.”
The next area of interest is the Craighead County Fairgrounds;
which is situated diagonally across Stadium Boulevard from the Red
Lobster and Longhorn Steakhouse. The fairgrounds have outgrown
their current property and the property has become too valuable to
use only a few times per year. The Fairgrounds are moving and Haag
Brown Commercial has accepted the challenge of marketing the
newly vacated Fairgrounds as a re-development project.
“The word is getting around about the Fairgrounds Re-Develop-
ment and it has spawned significant interest from developers, retail-
ers, and restaurants,” said Brown. “We have pending deals with a
few restaurants and retailers, but are unable disclose them right now.
“With the Fairgrounds Re-Development along with the Red-
Lobster anchored retail development, we could possibly see
$100,000,000 of gross sales in those sites 5 years from now. That is
really big,” said Brown with a smile.
I noticed the same type of development and re-development of
property while growing up in Fayetteville and during my time in
Atlanta; but we don’t have the maniacal growth that will create a
bubble that crashes the economy.
I asked Brown about the future of commercial development in
Jonesboro, “The retail focus from every consultant we speak with has
Jonesboro’s retail market defined into boundaries. The boundaries
include Nettleton to the North, Highway 63 to the south, Caraway
to the West and Stadium to the East. The investor’s primary retail
focus is overwhelmingly on “on Stadium south of the Mall and
North of the Highway. I have heard the defined boundaries ten
times from ten different companies with little to no change in the
parameters”.
Just when I thought I had heard all the good news, Brown showed
me a map of the new NEA Medical Campus that is currently under
construction a few miles north of the mall. I then recognized we
have so much growth and progress that is not known to the average
citizen. The NEA Medical Campus will be a $400 million dollar
complex that will drive traffic to the area and further connect Jones-
boro and Paragould.
Brown showed me the NEA Medical Campus and proximity of
the new County Fairgrounds along highway 49 between the campus
and the city of Brookland. Brown spoke of how it will create further
commercial development along the Highway 49 corridor. As I am
listening to Brown, I remind myself our country is in the midst of a
deep recession, but it is hard to recognize in our “Little Atlanta”…I
mean Jonesboro.
Read more of Brian Umberson’s articles on his blog:
ARKANSAS...STATE OF MINE
http://arkansasstateofmine.blogspot.com/
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