Driving the news: Anderson is a subject-matter expert on navigating development growing pains in nearby Texas. He addressed a group at the Fayetteville Public Library hosted by the Northwest Arkansas Council as part of its Growing Home NWA initiative.

The big picture: Anderson's "town maker" approach focuses on improving aging shopping centers, empty storefronts and other underused properties incrementally instead of waiting for a large developer to remake an entire area.

• "Growth is going to happen," he said. "The question is whether we grow intentionally."

Zoom in: Smaller steps can make projects manageable for local developers, reduce the amount borrowed at each stage, and allow developers to test what works, Anderson said.

• Small spaces can carry higher rents per square foot while keeping tenants' total monthly payments within their budgets, he said.

Case in point: He pointed to Wheatland Plaza, a mostly empty 90,000-square-foot shopping center he bought in Duncanville, Texas, in 2022.

• His company divided large storefronts into smaller spaces and plans to add 12 townhomes in part of the parking lot, he said.
• The property is now about 90% occupied and was recently appraised at $20 million, he said.

He also described Tyler Station, a former industrial property in Dallas that his company divided into spaces to make room for 70 entrepreneurs.

• The building now houses artists, offices, a brewery, barbers, tattoo shops and other tenants, he said. Some tenants sublease space to other businesses to help cover their rent.

Follow the money: Cities can help small developers by removing early costs and uncertainty.

What we're watching: The Northwest Arkansas Council hopes the event spurs dozens of local developers and entrepreneurs, president and CEO Nelson Peacock said.

The bottom line: Northwest Arkansas already has a regional vision, Anderson said. The next test is whether local people can turn it into individual projects.