What is the big deal about Northwest Arkansas? Also, why is Bella Vista so great?



Why Bella Vista Arkansas?

Bella Vista Village was developed as a summer recreational/vacation/golfing community by Cooper Homes in the 1960s. The Village was developed with the resort-like feel of the winter ski/recreational/vacation area Frisco, Colorado, which includes Copper Mountain Village, Keystone Village, and Arapaho Basin ski areas.

Where the I-540 bypass ends and reverts to Highway 71 in the Northwest Arkansas Village of Bella Vista, the landscape reminds one of the early 1980s I-70 corridor in Frisco, Colorado, where there are stoplights in the middle of a hill-cushioned highway, with a lone local grocery plaza and gas station present to service both the tourists and the locals, and the tiny Town Center comprised of a mini-amenities area with the core being the Vacation Rentals hub.

Because they look so much alike, I personally wonder if Cooper developed Copper Mountain, or if it is just a coincidence.

As with the above-mentioned Colorado areas, Bella Vista has turned into an area where people love to live all year.

Here is a list of the amenities that the Bella Vista residents have to enjoy:

7 Golf Courses
8 Recreational Lakes
5 Swimming Pools
5 Pro Shops
3 Country Clubs
4 Recreational Community Centers
12 Tennis Courts
10 Parks
1 Skeet and Trap Range
1 Yacht Club & Marina
1 Nature and Hiking Trail

Cooper also planned that every lot be backed up to common wooded area, lakefront, or a golf course. No lot has another home or lot touching theirs in the back, preserving privacy and maintaining wooded area and landscape.

Until the past year (2003), the Retirees have had Bella Vista mostly to themselves, with their Golfing and Lake privileges, their tree-covered properties, rolling hills, and especially, the great amount of home that their dollar could buy in one of the most beautiful areas of the USA.

In the early months of the new century, Wal-Mart mandated that every Vendor that sold any type of merchandise must have an office in the Northwest Arkansas area, with a window that closes in 2005.

Naturally, developers have jumped on this, creating “Luxury Gated” subdivisions out of cow pastures, and asking for over $100 a square foot for homes in the Rogers/Bentonville/Springdale/Fayetteville towns in the Northwest Arkansas area.

Bella Vista remained out of the loop, considered a “Retirement Village.” Bella Vista is still comprised of 80% retirees, but that number is declining because the retirees are passing away or moving to be close to their loved ones in other states. Many are lamenting that younger people with children are moving into the area, and do not wish to weather the rapidly changing climate.

On top of that, many who work for Wal-Mart and its vendors are real estate and internet-savvy. These people began to realize that if they purchased homes in Bella Vista, they could remain in the Bentonville school district, but purchase much more of a home with built-in natural surroundings than they could in the former pastures and chicken farms of Rogers, Bentonville, Centerton, Springdale, and Fayetteville.

As a result, the demographics of Bella Vista have begun to change. Young families and couples who want to have more square footage for their money are purchasing in the Village. People who want Lakefront and Golf-front properties can actually have their dream for a fraction of the cost, but more of the beauty and privacy.

Although those of us in our 30s joke about having “Bella Vista Moments,” (especially when we forget to pay for gas, drive off after paying for (but before receiving) our drive-through fast foods), we love where we work and live. We can see it changing, and know that it won’t be long before our elders’ “Little Slice of Heaven” becomes our well-known real estate playground.

Bella Vista will always be a desirable place to live. If Wal-Mart should encounter problems, those who live in Bella Vista will always be happy with their surroundings and amenities, as before the Wal-Mart boom. The homes that loom upon each other in Rogers, Bentonville, Centerton, Springdale, and surrounding areas would most likely lose a great deal of value, but the homes in Bella Vista will always be able to boast their lakes, golf courses, and beautiful resort-like surroundings.

Welcome to Bella Vista.