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BELLA VISTA, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A real estate development company announces it has bought a majority of holdings from Cooper Communities, Inc. in Bella Vista.
Blue Crane, first known as Ropeswing Group, bought approximately 2,700 acres of undeveloped land throughout Bella Vista and Benton County, the company announced on March 8.
“It’s very gratifying that they’re interested in Bella Vista and expanding here,” Bella Vista Mayor John Flynn said.
Flynn says the land will be scattered around various places in the city.
The Walton-founded company said Cooper Communities will continue to own and operate commercial and residential developments, but will no longer be the developer.
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The company bought 54 acres in the area back in March. In a Talk Business & Politics article Tom Walton, co-owner and CEO of Runway Group, the parent company of Blue Crane, said that Bella Vista was his backyard growing up and he wants to preserve the tradition of connecting people to nature.
“We understand that this is a big announcement for many people. It is for us, too,” Walton said in the release. “As we consider our developments, we plan to bring in the community as part of that process. We believe deeply in Bella Vista’s tradition of connecting people to nature through cycling, golf, and outdoor recreation, and we are confident our investments will reflect that.”
The release said that the Operations of the City and Property Owners Association will not change, including the 100+ miles of professionally built multi-use trails maintained by the city of Bella Vista through an agreement with the POA.
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In March, Blue Crane announced a separate real estate purchase for approximately 54 acres on Mercy Way in Bella Vista in three separate deals, including the Sugar Creek Shopping Center, it said in the release.
Blue Crane is a development and real estate company that has created Climb Bentonville, Blake St. House, Lady Slipper, Ledger and 8th Street Market among other developments.
Flynn thinks the idea is to develop retail, restaurants, and outdoor recreation, in the city.
“Right now, we have seven lakes, seven golf courses and over 100 miles of trails. So, to build on that, I think would be really effective and, you know, make it a fun area,” Flynn said.
He hopes a small hotel will be built.
“We have a lot of short-term rentals and that sort of thing, but we don’t actually have a hotel. That surprises a lot of people,” Flynn said.
Victor Michalski has lived in Bella Vista for about 12 years and he wants to see something that caters to his love for the outdoors.
“I like a lot of the fishing and hunting around here and the wildlife conservation that we have,” Michalski said.
He says more bike trails, or a brewery for bikers would be good to build as well.
“After their trail, they might want to have a little brewery,” Michalski said.
Bella Vista resident Madilyn Nees hopes the potential project will be eco-friendly.
“Definitely something with recycling that would be really nice,” Nees said. “I mean, Arkansas is a natural state, so I think keeping it natural and like, being able to recycle those materials and be able to put back into the earth would be really nice as well.”
She is also hoping for a TGI Fridays.
“That would be amazing. We have like no good fast food or anything,” Nees said.
The company has not released what it wants to develop but Flynn says it seems like the company has the resident’s best interests in mind.
“We’re excited about the idea of working with them,” Flynn said.
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This article was originally published by a www.nwahomepage.com . Read the Original article here. .