Round 2: Bentonville, AR vs. Kenmore, WA
Welcome to the second round of the sixth annual Strongest Town Competition! This contest is our annual celebration of the towns and cities across North America who are building stronger communities, even in times of uncertainty and change.
We’re down to our top eight contestants, and for this round, we asked them to cut back on the text and instead send us five photos, with a caption for each explaining how it illustrates the strength of their city.
Check out the photo submissions from two of our elite eight contenders below, and cast your vote at the bottom of the page!
Voting closes at 12pm CDT on Thursday, March 25th.
BENTONVILLE, AR
Entry submitted by: Ellen Norvell, Tyler Overstreet, Jon Stanley, Danielle Semsrott
Bentonville enjoys global appeal with a small town feel.
Bentonville identifies itself as the New American Town, and the Bentonville Square is the heart and soul of Bentonville. The vision, now a reality, of the 2004 Downtown Master Plan was lots of people sitting, chatting and strolling with the sound of water and the smell of delicious food in an environment of clean streets, beautiful buildings, music, trees and landscaping. Today, Downtown Bentonville is that and so much more, including a boutique hotel, an outdoor ice-skating rink/summer splash pad, housing variety, award-winning restaurants, a grocery store, trendy coffee houses, local brewers, access to a 36-mile regional greenway and nationally renowned art museums, parking garages, boutique shops, and frequent and popular community events. But it is the people that are at the heart of Bentonville. Bentonville residents have a spirit of entrepreneurism; they invest with their time and money, support their neighbors, and are some of the nicest people around. This dynamic combination of a unique built environment and amazing residents has resulted in Bentonville being recognized regionally and nationally from more than 18 different entities, including Newsweek, Food & Wine, Broadway World, Lonely Planet, Wallet Hub, Money, Inc., Travel & Leisure and Architectural Digest. Even HGTV recognizes that Bentonville is a special place and produces Fixer to Fabulous right here!
Photo Credit: Runway NWA
Bentonville responds quickly in a crisis.
Last March when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Arkansas, the community stepped up to help local businesses. The Visitors and Convention Bureau teamed up with the city, the Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce, and Downtown Bentonville Inc., creating a public safety campaign—Our Bentonville, Be Safe, Be Smart—to encourage social distancing, mask wearing and avoiding public places when sick. The Bentonville Farmer’s Market shifted to online ordering with drive through pick-up, allowing local farmers and growers to continue to do business. Then they established necessary safety measures so the market could open back up for in-person shopping. The city allowed for the use of public parking spaces downtown to expand outdoor dining when the Governor set capacity restrictions on restaurants. City operations continued through the pandemic by remaining open with online services and virtual options for public meetings. The city also relaxed its sign regulations, allowing additional signs for businesses to notify the public of the services they were offering during the pandemic. Despite the pandemic, the economy stayed strong with 2020. It was a record year for residential and commercial development, with a 3% increase in building permits, a 17% increase in construction value, and projects in the planning stage up 46%. And the city closely monitored its budget and sales tax revenue to remain in good financial standing.
Photo Credit: Downtown Bentonville, Inc.
Bentonville is the Mountain Bike Capital of the World.
In 2020, community leaders announced Bentonville as the Mountain Bike Capital of the World. Over the past decade, Bentonville has built a reputation among mountain biking enthusiasts and athletes as the premier global destination for the sport. We are at the heart of the trailhead in the Ozarks, and headquarters to the most innovative mountain bike trail designs built anywhere. There are 130 miles of trail in Bentonville, for both novice and expert riders, that connects to more than 250 trail miles in the Arkansas Ozark Trail System. The trails connect people to nature, the outdoors and each other while providing recreational opportunities and transportation alternatives. The success of the growing trail system is the collaborative partnership between the City of Bentonville, the Walton Family Foundation and biking enthusiasts across the world. These remarkable trail amenities have diversified the local economy by providing jobs and business related to cycling, including tourism, lodging, restaurants, bike shops, bike rentals, and bicycle manufacturing.
Photo Credit: Visit Bentonville
Bentonville celebrates its growing diversity.
Bentonville is home to the largest company in the world, Walmart, which brings people from all over the globe to visit and live in Bentonville. In 2016, nearly 16% of Bentonville’s population was born outside of the United States and nearly 20% was a race other than Caucasian. Our growing racial and ethnic diversity is an asset to our local economy and cultural experiences. In 2019, Downtown Bentonville, Inc. worked with 10 different cultural organizations to host an International Festival. The festival allowed Bentonville residents to share their culture and traditions with the community, including music, dance, and food. In 2020, Mayor Orman initiated Bentonville Together to work as a community to identify ways inclusion and equitable approaches can support Bentonville’s community vision and provide guidance for meaningful and transformative actions, with the goal of ensuring the City of Bentonville is welcoming and inclusive of all.
Photo Credit: Downtown Bentonville Inc.
Bentonville is a hub for cultural and culinary experiences.
Bentonville’s attractions and cultural experiences have grown substantially since the opening of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in 2011, which now welcomes more than 500,000 visitors each year. The children’s museum, Amazeum, has received more than one million visitors since it opened in 2015. The Momentary, a satellite of Crystal Bridges, opened in 2020, occupying a decommissioned 63,000 sq. ft. cheese factory with a focus on visual, performing, and culinary arts. These cultural and art experiences filter into the community with more than 100 public art installations. Our public art shares Bentonville’s history and celebrates the bicycling community and growing diversity while supporting local artists. The culinary scene has surged and been recognized by the Food Network for Bentonville’s locally owned hip eateries, award-winning chefs, vibrant food truck scene, and a specialty in high south cuisine. The state-of-the-art culinary school, Brightwater, located in a renovated chicken factory, is dedicated to sustainability and reducing food-waste. Foodies love our restaurants for their variety, excellence, and experience!
Photo Credit: Runway NWA
KENMORE, WA
Entry submitted by: Debbie Bent, John Vicente, Nancy Ousley, Jennifer Gordon, Bryan Hampson, Leticia Salcido, Richard Sawyer, Brandon Moen, and many co-creators in the community.
Building the Heart of the City
Located in the bullseye of our emerging downtown, Kenmore Town Square, a 20,000 sq. ft. site—with its 5,000 sq. ft. "Hangar" community building—serves as a symbolic living room that provides opportunities for year-round gathering. Through public and private partnerships, the site features new mixed-used commercial with over 300 units of high-density housing. The Downtown Creation project won the Association of Washington Cities Statewide 2020 Municipal Excellence Award, the Governor's Smart Cities Award in 2017, and the Puget Sound Regional Council's 2019 Vision 2040 Award.
Connecting Residents with the Natural Environment
Perched on the northern tip of Lake Washington, access to the water for recreation, travel, and a connection to the natural environment is a valued amenity in Kenmore. During a public outreach initiative, residents identified connecting to the City’s public open space and waterfront as a top priority. A variety of City projects are aimed to provide new boardwalks, floating docks, waterfront viewing areas, additional trails, new access for hand-powered watercraft, and more, with the goals of improving public access to Lake Washington waterfront and preserving and enhancing ecological functions.
A Community Brimming with "Love Notes"
Small Gestures = Big Impact. "Love Notes" are simple acts or gestures between a city and its citizens that engage, delight, and create a collective sense of place. Building a park treasure like Quinn's Bench, painting a fire hydrant, hosting a mask drive, or helping to restore native plant habitat in a park are all examples of love notes that create a true sense of connection. The City of Kenmore works to encourage and inspire love notes by hosting community workshops, providing venues and outreach support for events and gatherings, and connecting co-creators to spark innovation.
“Brew Row”—Sustainable Re-Use of Warehouse Buildings
Kenmore has fostered a business climate that enables small business owners, like craft brewers, to make the leap from hobby to full-time business. "Brew Row" in Kenmore has several craft breweries along the regional Burke-Gilman Trail. The emergence of Brew Row is a result, in large part, of the City allowing flexible zoning and elimination of parking requirements to allow incremental re-use of older buildings in the City's warehouse district.
Historic Preservation and Economic Development—a Match Made in Kenmore
A public-private partnership between the City, the State, and a development firm specializing in historic preservation allowed the long-vacant and historic former Catholic seminary building to be restored and converted into a grand lodge. The Lodge at St. Edward State Park is scheduled to open in May 2021 in Kenmore as a hotel, restaurant, and spa. Washington State Parks approved a 62-year lease that allowed for investors to restore the endangered building. The hotel will sell items from local retailers and bring economic growth and new opportunities to Kenmore.
