Rogers Chamber Sees Renewed Interest from Investors
By: Kyle Leyenberger
Updated: January 22, 2013
"We're busy," says Steve Cox of the Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce. "We're starting to see renewed interest coming in and corporations that were slow to pull the trigger... they want to go ahead and strike while the irons hot."
New restaurants and stores are up and running along Promenade Boulevard, and Marshalls, Home Goods and a Shoe Carnival should open in the first quarter of this year. Cox says other businesses are also under construction.
"Slim Chickens has plans to build down there," he says. "Bliss Cupcakes is going to be opening in the next couple of months, as well as a few other stores, I can't say their names just yet."
Mike Harvey of the Northwest Arkansas Council says all these new stores and restaurants aren't just good for business, they're also a draw for talented young professionals.
"The more amenities we have, shopping, eating, destination retail, the more attractive Northwest Arkansas becomes as a place for them to move," he says.
Cox says the growth also makes the city more attractive to employers.
"When major employers or large industry looks to move into the area, they want their employees to be able to have higher quality of life," he says.
The chamber is already seeing results, Cox says 20 to 30 companies request info on the city each year.
"If we're able to get just 2 or 3 of those then it could literally mean thousands of jobs for the area," he says.


