PRAIRIE GROVE -- A cup of coffee with friends. A take-out meal or picnic for lunch. An outside gathering spot. A place to rest or relax out of the sun.
All activities can now be enjoyed by the public in a new covered park in downtown Prairie Grove, compliments of a $220,000 investment by Arvest Bank to benefit the community.
Cheryl West, an Arvest Bank board member from Prairie Grove, added another unexpected activity for the space: an open area for square dance groups to practice. West's comment brought laughter as she was one of several people who spoke Friday during a grand opening ceremony for the pavilion.
Arvest and Prairie Grove Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored a ribbon-cutting to officially open the Arvest Pavilion. The park replaces the former Arvest drive-thru facility at 150 E. Buchanan and is located across from Mock Park and Magnolia Coffee. The bank's drive-up ATM will continue to remain open for customers.
The space features an open brick paver area with two benches bordered by a larger boulder retaining wall and surrounded by landscaping. It has a pavilion with four picnic tables, parking spaces and two new signs to tell the public about the park.
Donny Story, president for Arvest in the Fayetteville region, said a project for the area has been on the bank's "radar" since Arvest closed the drive-through building and moved to a new branch on Heritage Parkway in September 2018.
Story said he challenged his architecture department to come up with a way to use the property and keep the ATM drive-thru.
In a news release about the park, Story said the pavilion is a "reflection of our commitment to making Prairie Grove a better place to live, work and play."
Dax Moreton, commercial loan manager for Arvest Bank in western Washington County, said he believes the pavilion is a good addition to downtown Prairie Grove.
"More than anything, we're just excited to be here in Prairie Grove and maintain our downtown presence," said Moreton, who oversaw the grand opening ceremony.
The park design came together during the past two years, said Brent Vinson, a landscape architect with the bank's architecture management department. Vinson said staff came up with the idea to use the existing canopy of the former drive-through area as a pavilion, and a committee made up of Arvest board members and Prairie Grove citizens approved the proposal.
Firms involved in the project included DCI Engineers, Ellingson Contracting and Professional Landscaping.
"They did a really good job of making those plans come to fruition and creating this beautiful facility we see now," Vinson said Friday at the grand opening.
The landscaping is an important part of the project, Vinson said. He said the bank wanted to mimic the green space at Mock Park and the green space across the street with Luginbuel Funeral Service.
Vinson said he hopes to use the project as a prototype for other Arvest properties.
"This is a great example of a creative way to use a site that is not being utilized fully," Vinson said.
Others who spoke Friday included Dale Reed, chamber president who also works for Arvest in Prairie Grove, and Rick Ault, director of Main Street Prairie Grove.
"We're very proud as a city and the chamber for this type facility," Reed said.
A lot of small towns like Prairie Grove are seeing their downtowns "kinda die on the vine," Reed said.
Prairie Grove's downtown is still thriving, Reed said, because businesses are reinvesting in the community. Arvest Bank "jumped in" to reinvest in downtown Prairie Grove, he added.
"On behalf of the chamber, we're so thankful to have this facility and so thankful Arvest invested in this facility. We look forward to using this in years to come," he said.
Ault, who also is a business owner in downtown Prairie Grove and is a city council member, said he was speaking on behalf of the Main Street Prairie Grove Board of Directors, the city and Mayor Sonny Hudson, who was not able to attend the ceremony.
"It is absolutely an honor and pleasure to be able to appreciate Arvest for their continued investment in Prairie Grove," Ault said.
He noted that the pavilion did not happen by accident but is the result of lots of thought and work.
"We hear a lot about random acts of kindness. If you catch a random act of kindness and you put it on the internet, it goes viral," Ault said. "But guess what? Well thought out, planned, intentional and consistent kindness, I submit to you, is a much better definition of character than any other individual act of kindness. And that's what we continue to see over and over through Arvest and the work Arvest does."
Ault said Arvest has not lost its focus on the importance of community as it has succeeded as a business.
"So to me, from the outsider looking into Arvest, community involvement isn't just something they do, it's something they've become. It's part of who they are."
Ault said he believes the pavilion couldn't have come at a better time because of the covid-19 pandemic. The area will provide a safer, outside place for people to gather.
He said he also hopes it will inspire others to plan "intentional" acts of kindness.
David Parks, owner of PG Telco and another board member for Arvest Bank in Fayetteville, said he remembers when Arvest purchased Farmers and Merchants Bank about 30 years ago. Farmers and Merchants Bank was a very community-minded bank and Arvest Bank has continued in the same way, Parks said.
Arvest has local citizens on its boards and because of that has stayed connected to local needs and contributed back to the community, he said.
"I want to thank the bank for the transformation that really adds to the downtown area," Parks said.
Karen Gray, Fayetteville marketing manager for Arvest, said the total cost of the project was $220,450, which included engineering, construction, new signs and landscaping.
The bank still has a few more plans for the pavilion in the future, such as free wi-fi and some improvements to the outside of the building itself.
