CONWAY, Ark. (May 26, 2009) – Hendrix College and its master planner met with planning officials from the City of Conway Tuesday, collaborating on ways to tie the college’s future construction south of campus with Conway’s plans to revitalize the city’s downtown area.
Andres Duany, founding principal of Duany Platter-Zyberk and Company (DPZ) and Hendrix’s master planner since 1995, along with Hendrix College executive vice president Ellis Arnold and Scott Schallhorn, the CEO of The Village at Hendrix, and others from the college met with Conway Mayor Tab Townsell and planning officials from the city Tuesday, discussing how the college’s expansion plans can work with the city’s future plans, specifically on Markham Street between the college and downtown Conway. For two hours the group discussed various aspects of city planning and ways the two entities could work together to enhance growth and downtown development in Conway.
The collaboration comes after Hendrix and the city successfully connected on Front Street last year with the construction of The Corner at Hendrix, a new state-of-the-art student townhouse complex that created a walkable, lighted connection between the campus and downtown Conway. More students are comfortably walking to downtown Conway to shop and eat at downtown businesses since the project concluded.
Townsell lauded the Front Street achievements Tuesday and described Markham as a similarly plausible opportunity for the Hendrix campus and downtown Conway to connect. He called Markham “the bones of a great street” for redevelopment that will “create a wonderfully outstanding streetscape” in the coming years, with the potential to be a friendly area for pedestrians and bicyclists due to its width.
City officials have been studying ways to enhance Markham Street from the downtown area north to Mill Street (toward Hendrix College), while Hendrix has been studying enhancement opportunities south on Markham Street to Mill Street, making the collaboration a natural event.
Duany, whose master plan led to Hendrix’s recent construction across Harkrider from its main campus, which includes The Village at Hendrix and the college’s new $24 million Wellness and Athletics Center, discussed his experiences with other developments throughout the country and praised city officials for their success in revitalizing downtown Conway over the past decade.
Hendrix, founded in 1876, is a selective, residential, undergraduate liberal arts college emphasizing experiential learning in a demanding yet supportive environment. The college is among 165 colleges featured in the 2009 edition of the Princeton Review America’s Best Value Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.