Bentonville has received a number of positive reviews in specialty publications and online sites in recent months, further enhancing the image of northwest Arkansas as a good place for young professionals to advance their careers. We're not talking about travel publications geared toward tourists, though there have also been plenty of those.

A story on the Realtor.com website last year declared Bentonville to be the "Austin of the Ozarks."

"The northwest corner of Arkansas is experiencing a sustained real estate boom powered by the world's largest retailer," Keith Griffith wrote for Realtor.com. "Home to the corporate headquarters of Walmart, Bentonville is at the heart of a regional renaissance that has seen an influx of residents drawn by the area's lower cost of living, outdoor recreation and cultural amenities.

"Many of the new arrivals have moved in from California, New York and Texas, says Stephanie Funk, a luxury real estate adviser with Engel & Volkers specializing in northwest Arkansas. Bentonville's emergence as a Southern economic and cultural hub has even drawn comparisons to Austin, Texas, including a growing number of people moving into the area from Austin itself."

Funk said: "We've had an influx from Austin, I think, because people see this as Austin before it got too big. It's beautiful, and it reminds them of Austin in the 1990s or 2000s. ... It's not our native Arkansans who are buying $3 million homes. It's the people who are moving in who really see it as almost a bargain."

Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner said Bentonville saw the same post-pandemic buying craze and price spikes that other markets saw in 2021-22. The difference is that the growth in Bentonville hasn't cooled.

"The continued success of this market is due to its approachable price point and the real economic growth happening in the area," Berner said. "People are moving in, taking jobs, buying homes, and the housing market remains strong as a result."

Griffith told what's now a familiar story for Arkansans: "Thirty years ago, Bentonville was little more than a speck on the map surrounded by cow fields and punctuated by a two-lane highway. Walmart, which has more than 15,000 corporate employees in Bentonville, has fueled the area's economic growth, while also attracting a host of branch offices for vendors eager to be close to the mothership.

"More than 1,300 Walmart suppliers have a presence in northwest Arkansas, including Nestle, Unilever, Clorox and J.M. Smucker. Their presence has, in turn, spawned an ecosystem of startups that provide software and business solutions, says Funk, herself a former investor and the founder of a VC-based marketing technology firm in the area."

"There are a lot of vendors to the vendors who are creating solutions around retail," Funk said. "Some very smart people are creating important retail technology tools around here."

Griffith wrote: "In addition to Walmart itself, Bentonville's economy and culture have been fueled by the incredible wealth and philanthropy of company founder Sam Walton's family. Sam's daughter Alice founded Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, a world-class museum and cultural hub that offers free general admission. She's also the driving force behind the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM).

"The Walton family has also spent millions developing a network of mountain bike trails surrounding Bentonville, an area with rolling, low-slung hills that are perfect for the sport. Trail investments -- relatively cheap compared with other kinds of infrastructure -- have made Bentonville an international destination for professional mountain bikers, as well as a hub for amateur enthusiasts."

As far as real estate, Griffith wrote: "Downtown Bentonville remains a hub for buyer demand due to its proximity to Walmart's head office and business district. Most of the $1 million-plus listings are clustered around this downtown core. As well, the Bella Vista community north of Bentonville has emerged as a particularly hot market. Originally founded as a retirement community, Bella Vista has transformed into a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts and is attracting droves of young families."

Funk said Alice Walton is "attracting all of these best-in-class doctors and their support staff from all over the world. And so now we have many high-net-worth doctors trying to find homes."

Meanwhile, according to Funk, mountain biking trails have created valuable trail-front property.

"It was intentionally developed with green space behind every house," she said. "No two backyards back up to each other. The Waltons have made miles of mountain biking trails in Bella Vista that run behind these houses. So now our version of oceanfront property is trail-front property in Bella Vista."

There also have been positive architectural reviews of buildings on the Crystal Bridges campus that house AWSOM and the Heartland Whole Health Institute.

"Bentonville touts a growing list of buildings by powerhouse firms," Daniel Jonas Roche wrote for The Architect's Newspaper. "Safdie Architects and Marlon Blackwell Architects have completed handsome commissions at the sprawling 134-acre site founded in 2011 by the Walton family. Another building has been completed at Crystal Bridges, this time by local practice Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects and OSD.

"The Alice L. Walton School of Medicine opened its doors to its inaugural class of 48 medical students in July. The building's striking design was largely informed by Ozarks geology, most notably its rocks, mountainous terrain and verdant landscapes."

Blackwell designed the Heartland Whole Health Institute building, which also opened last year. Safdie Architects designed an expansion of the art museum, which will open later this year.

Architect Wesley Walls of Polk Stanley Wilcox said: "AWSOM is designed to transform the future of medical education, transcending traditional boundaries between art, architecture, nature and wellness. The building emerges from the landscape as a link between nature and community, its unique form and materials creating an academic environment purposely designed to challenge convention and foster innovation."

In an article for the architecture, interiors and design magazine Dezeen, Ellen Eberhardt wrote: "At its front, the building's glazed facade angles inwards and features a deep cantilever over the entrance. Clad in brass and concrete, the angled form is meant to mimic natural limestone bluffs found in the nearby Ozarks. Along the back, the building splits into two arms separated by a semi-enclosed, ground-level courtyard. One arm, which is covered by a rooftop park, extends further back and slopes downwards to meet the ground.

"The other arm is made up of a rectangular, glazed form that leads out onto the rooftop and looks out over the interior courtyard and surrounding campus. The broad sides of the building are covered in wedges of concrete and glass panels. The interior palette features terrazzo flooring, white oak millwork, walnut veneer and brass accents."

Walton said: "An innovative curriculum focused on whole-person care requires an equally innovative building, and Polk Stanley Wilcox's design delivers in every way. Well-designed spaces play a role in our well-being. As we train future physicians to successfully tackle the health care challenges of the 21st century, it's essential that we support their physical, mental, emotional and social health."

Simon David of OSD, who handled the landscaping, said: "With AWSOM teaching students to proactively treat the whole person, it became clear that a new type of physical environment for health is needed; one that abandons the old formula of a building in a sea of parking, and instead brings us back in balance with the numerous benefits of nature, community and art. In this way, the AWSOM landscape is a physical manifestation of whole health principles."

Rex Nelson is a senior editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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