Mary Madden

Centerton is one of the fastest growing communities in Northwest Arkansas (and the entire state). Historically, it was a small village that never had a true downtown. Today, the city recognizes it is at a tipping point--at risk of losing its identity and becoming solely a bedroom community comprising residential subdivisions and strip commercial corridors.

As the next participant in ULI's "Small Cities Initiative" Centerton wants to explore opportunities for redeveloping the historic village crossroads or creating a new town center -- or both. This workshop will be a hands-on session for Place Summit attendees to brainstorm about the necessary placemaking tools for both approaches to creating a "new" downtown -- ask key questions, explore physical constraints and opportunities, identify low-hanging fruit, share examples from other cities, discuss policy and regulatory tools, and define potential priorities for the city -- helping the city refine the scope and scale of its Small Cities project.