Nearly 10 years ago, the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce formed a non-profit group to revitalize the City’s downtown and create a link between the historic Town Square, occupied mostly by retail and offices, and the nearby entertainment district filled with restaurants, nightclubs and gift shops. The resulting Downtown Dickson Enhancement Project, created a master plan that defines a long-term vision for the downtown area. The ongoing project has already transformed previously abandoned buildings into mixed-use developments and encouraged new downtown development, such as the Three Sisters Building, which adds more retail, office and residential apartments to the area. The carefully designed infrastructure of the Downtown-Dickson area imparts a sense of place and identity that is both pedestrian-friendly while simultaneously accommodating car and buses.

The area is also home to the Walton Arts Center, which brings national and international performers to Fayetteville including Broadway productions and world-renowned dance troupes and musicians. At the heart of Fayetteville’s historic center, the vibrant Town Square Gardens draw people to the many retail shops and offices set among the lush municipal gardens, Children’s Garden and peace pole. At the center of the garden is the site of Fayetteville’s original Post Office, which was completed in 1911. Directly across from the Post Office is the newly constructed Fayetteville Town Center, which hosts hundreds of meetings, conventions, receptions and public events. The Fayetteville Town Center garden area received the “Award of Excellence for Beautification and Community Improvement in Government” from the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission in 2001.