Bentonville’s Midtown Center Gets Makeover

An announcement was made Friday that big plans are underway for the Bentonville Square.

The City of Bentonville, the Midtown Shopping Center and Walmart stores have joined forces to revamp the old Midtown Center into a new shopping and business center, according to a news release from the city.

“It will enhance the downtown,” said Bentonville Mayor Bob McCaslin. “If you’ve been around very long, you’ve noticed over the last several years that Bentonville has really transformed itself into a destination.”

Once construction is complete, the renovated center will have extra retail space along Northwest Second Street, with offices on the second and third floors.

The new Midtown Center will be anchored by a 31,000-square-foot Walmart Neighborhood Market with a connected parking garage.

Courtney Cassin, an employee at the Blue Moon Market on the Bentonville Square, said she is worried about the traffic congestion once construction begins.

“I think that it might cause a little bit of traffic and maybe a lot of people won’t be around the square as much, and that might slow down business a little bit,” said Cassin.

But overall, Cassin said she is excited about the announcement.

“A lot of people are going to be able to come to the square, and not just get a sandwich at a restaurant. I think they are going to be able to come out here and be able to walk around and see a lot of different types of businesses and a lot of different types of markets,” said Cassin.

McCaslin said this construction project could be the catalyst for more to come.

“A lot of people are looking to live near the square, so, yes, I think that just motivates people a step farther to say, ‘I would like to live near where all of that is going on.’ That will probably result in new construction,” the mayor said.  

The project is funded by private money. 

Construction is expected to start before June of next year and should take about two years to complete.