Rogers Historical Museum will expand into the former Rogers Morning News building located at 313 South Second Street in downtown Rogers. It was built in 1947 and originally served as the Newt Hailey Ford Dealership. The adaptive reuse of this historic facility is one of three pilot projects of the Northwest Arkansas Design Excellence Program.
The Walton Family Foundation said this week that it will fund the design of three northwest Arkansas building projects through its Northwest Arkansas Design Excellence Program.
The foundation, created by the family of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. founded Sam Walton, said the program aims to provide “quality urban planning” and will “elevate architectural and landscape design” of buildings and spaces in Benton and Washington counties.
The three projects the foundation is supporting are:
- A new 51,500-SF performance arts space for TheatreSquared in downtown Fayetteville
- A 28,000-SF adaptive reuse facility for the Rogers Historical Museum in downtown Rogers
- A new 35,000-SF facility and half-acre playground for the Helen R. Walton Children’s Enrichment Center in Bentonville
“The pilot projects selected for 2015 exemplify the diversity and versatility that can be expected from the Northwest Arkansas Design Excellence Program,” Karen Minkel, the foundation’s Home Region Program director, said in a news release. “From new construction to adaptive reuse projects, particularly within our region’s downtowns, this program will help enhance our sense of place throughout the Northwest Arkansas region.”
Firms from 19 states, the District of Columbia and Canada applied to be part of the design program. A panel of professionals and educators will select the first pool of designers by the end of October, according to Luis Gonzalez, a spokesman for the Walton Family Foundation.
While the program is intended to foster cooperation between in-state and out-of-state design firms, the foundation said it will take a “local approach” when considering sourcing of materials for the proposed designs “to maintain sustainable development practices.”
“This program will help us use outstanding design concepts to build an intimate, permanent, world-class home for professional theatre in our region,” said Martin Miller, TheatreSquared’s executive director.
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