With no disrespect intended towards the "Mom & Pap" small businesses that have, and continue to dot the sidewalks of Summitt Street, have they outlived their usefulness?  Have they in fact become a hindrance to the natural growth and development of the community? How much has actually changed over the past forty or so years? Not much, and for some the argument starts and ends right there. But as is the case with thousands of American small towns, progress has been rejected and as a consequence stagnation has devoured these dream paradises. 

Ark City is at a tipping point for the generation at hand. Soon enough, the opportunity for decisive action will be snatched away and will once again await the next cycle of thinkers and doers. But will the bold-minded manage to step forth and lead our town in a different direction, one that could forever change the appearance and prosperity of Ark City?

The saying, "...build it and they will come.", is overused but nonetheless applicable to the situation at hand. But the two questions entwined in that phase must first be examined;

(1)                        Build what?

and

(2)                        Who will come?

As for the "what", we look to the relevance of design regarding the necessary facelift of the downtown area. The concept is not new, but certainly radical to the conservative way of thinking...closing a three squared block radius of downtown Ark City to traffic and allowing for the redesigning and development of an all-walk shopping complex bordered on either end by a signature fountain(1) and an amphitheatre(2).

On the topic of "who" will come, some would jump the gun and assume this is in reference to consumers but in fact the "who" are the retailers. With such a facility in place, the sky would be the limit on the type of retail shopping that could be made available to the residence of Ark City and the outlying communities. Items that have traditionally only been available in the big city would now become apart of the every day lives of those that call Arkansas City home.

Risky? Some will say, but so too is chemotherapy

(1)   See the Halo Fountain at Stanford University.