Rogers sees faster growth than any Northwest Arkansas city

ROGERS, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The city of Rogers is the fastsest developed city in Northwest Arkansas, according to Mervin Jebaraj, business and researching director at the University of Arkansas.

The city continues its plan for unified development.

Jeberaj thinks that it’s something that makes contributes to Rogers rapid growth.

This comes after 7 years of work to build on the historic downtown Rogers, Pinnacle Hills area, and ultimately the city itself.

John McCurdy is the director of community development for the city of Rogers. After the city was named to be the fastest growing city in NWA, Mccurdy thinks, it’s not just Rogers that’s growing, it’s the entire region.

“We have a high demand for housing. We have a high demand for mixed-use development. I believe the region is headed in a similar path, at least the big cities. We’re talking about smart growth. The regional planning commission is hosting a lot of conversations about smart growth. The Northwest Arkansas Council is talking about this. We’re all dealing with the housing crisis and with the transportation challenges that we face,” said McCurdy.

“So, the primary challenge we have as a region in Benton County, and the city of Rogers is that we need to provide housing for all these people that are moving here,” said Jebaraj.

Jebaraj thinks that the unified development code will help some of those challenges and eventually help some businesses rebuild after the damages from the May tornadoes. “With the codes, what is possible is that those lots can now be developed to something that’s more financially feasible,” said Jebaraj.

McCurdy thinks that even though they are the first to do it, the entire region needs to consider a development code. “We believe that it’s very important to the region to look at growth regionally. The city of Rogers is the only city in the area that has established urban growth boundaries. We are recognizing that we don’t need to grow outward anymore,” said Mccurdy.

For more information on the city’s unified development code, click here .

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