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Sleepy southern city transformed into boomtown thanks to Walmart's new corporate HQ... but locals are worried: 'I don't want anyone else moving here'
A sleepy southern city has transformed into a boomtown thanks to a huge local corporation, but not everyone is excited about the drastic change.
Bentonville, Arkansas, about three hours outside of Little Rock, has gone from a quiet, cattle-filled metropolis to a trendy city filled with amenities often found in major destinations like New York and Austin.
The small city, with a population of about 60,000, has rapidly evolved with the help of Walmart, one of the nation's largest corporations, after the company planted its headquarters in the 34.25 square-mile city decades ago.
The influx of residents is expected to skyrocket after Walmart announced that a massive new corporate campus featuring a pickleball court and child care center is on the way.
The multinational retailer, which was first incorporated in October 1969 under Delaware General Corporation Law, moved into the southern city in 1971 and opened up its first home office and distribution center there.
Bentonville has since been dubbed the new 'capital of cool,' as farmland and a slower way of life has been replaced with craft cocktails, chef-run restaurants, bohemian coffee shops, and a $255-a-month exclusive social club with a waitlist.
Bentonville, Arkansas, about three hours outside of Little Rock, has gone from a quiet, cattle-filled city to a trendy hub filled with amenities often found in major cities like New York and Austin
The city has rapidly evolved with the help of Walmart, which planted its headquarters in the 34.25 square-mile city decades ago, with a new one on the way. (pictured: The Walmart Museum)
Gil Curren, 88, who has lived in the city since 1971 with his wife Sue, said that they have been trying to embrace the change, but they fear that the hype could cause too many people to relocate there.
'We still have a really great lifestyle here. And I would recommend that to anyone. But don’t tell them: I don’t want anyone else moving here,' Gil told CNBC.
Gil and his family moved from their home in Kansas City to a farmhouse in Bentonville.
The retiree recalled times when he used to watch rural moments take over their city, including when cows broke free after a nearby river overflowed.
Now, more than five decades later, he said that those experiences have turned into distant memories as he looks outside his window to see a bustling, lively city, filled with bike riders, and plagued by unrecognizable construction.
'In the last 10, 15 years, it’s just exploded,' Gil said. 'Every time I go to town now, there’s new construction.'
Many of the people who have moved into the city are Walmart employees, as the corporation helped change the area to attract talent to fill its many positions.
With more residents coming in, the cost of living has increased and concerned locals like Gil and Sue.
Besides Walmart, other well-known companies based in the area have brought in more people, such as Tyson Foods and the transport service J.B. Hunt.
Recently, the city has been undergoing a massive project, the new Walmart headquarters facility that is expected to be placed on a 350-acre campus
Other companies, including Hershey, Mattel, PepsiCo and Duracell have planted offices in or near Bentonville to be closer to Walmart's headquarters.
In 2010, Bentonville's population was 36,000, and by 2022, it shot up to 58,000. By 2050, the predicted population of the city is set to reach 200,000, the U.S. Census Bureau reported.
Recently, the city has been undergoing a massive project - the new Walmart headquarters facility that will take over a 350-acre campus.
Inside the immense new home office, employees can enjoy a food hall, walking and biking trails, a fitness center and day care.
The gym and day care have already opened their doors and other parts of the huge center will launch in phases over the coming year.
The campus will be located between Central Avenue and 14th Street, near Highway 102 in downtown Bentonville, where old company warehouse spaces and office buildings once sat.
The giant grocer knocked down existing buildings to replace them with 12 new office buildings, several amenity buildings, parking decks and lush green space.
In addition to the new headquarters, the company is also revamping the Walmart Museum that founder, Sam Walton, opened in 1990.
The new version will be modernized and tech-driven, with a massive hologram of Walton to help answer visitor's questions.
Inside the massive building, the company will offer employees a food hall, trails for walking and biking, a fitness center, and day care
A temporary location has been set up at the Walmart Museum Heritage Lab on 240 S. Main St in the meantime.
Walton's family made sure to keep his entrepreneurial legacy alive after he died in 1992, with his grandsons, Tom and Steuart building luxury apartments and high-end restaurants in the city.
Walton's daughter, Alice, has also made her mark in the evolving community, founding the American art museum, Crystal Bridges. She plans to open a medical school in the area.
Kristen Boozman, a local realtor, told CNBC News she has seen just how popular Bentonville has become.
'Ten years ago, we had 14 homes that sold for over a million dollars. Last year, 2023, we had 244,' Boozman revealed.
Along with pricey homes, the city's median income has soared to $99,000 a year, more than the $55,432 median household income in all of the state.
Not only are locals struggling to keep up with the rise in prices, but prospective Walmart employees looking to relocate to Bentonville have as well.
According to the corporation's most recent proxy statement, an average Walmart employee makes a little more than $27,640 a year.
Walmart has already started moving their corporate employees to the city, with the company announcing just last month that workers from Atlanta, Toronto and Dallas will be transferred to Bentonville or other corporate areas.
One employee who previously lived in the Big Apple, Washington D.C. and Miami, uprooted her life and moved to Arkansas for her job at Walmart.
The giant grocer knocked down the existing buildings to replace them with 12 new office buildings, several amenity buildings, parking decks and green space. (pictured: A rendered version of the future Walmart headquarters)
Tracy Robinson, a team leader who coordinates with manufacturers that create baby products for the grocer's private-label brands, said that before her relocation, she had never even been to Bentonville.
After adjusting to her new life, Robinson said that she settled in quite well, but was shocked to see that the price to dine out in the city was nearly identical to restaurants in Miami.
Despite the culture shock in the city, Curren said that there are pros and cons to the change.
'We can go to the Walmart store and not meet one person that we know in there,' he said, adding that traffic has been severely congested.
On the other hand, he enjoys seeing his city filled with families and experiencing all the new adventures that have come along the way.