Walton-owned Blue Crane recently announced plans to redevelop a block of buildings on the north side of the downtown square.

The proposed development on Second Street, between Northeast A and North Main streets, calls for a mixed-use project featuring new residential units, commercial spaces, dining and underground parking. Construction could begin on the potential project as early as next year. 

While most of the existing buildings will be demolished, the plan includes preserving and restoring the former Benton County Jail at 212 N. Main St., which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“The design focuses on keeping the small-town charm that defines Bentonville by blending historic elements from the late 1800s on the square — a nod to the original brick commercial buildings built in the 1880s — with modern architecture,” a spokesperson wrote to The Bentonville Bulletin. Construction could begin on the potential project as early as next year. 

The announcement has drawn criticism from some local residents. A petition to “Save the Square” has garnered over 459 signatures as of Friday. 

“The design in no way honors the heritage and spirit of the square and instead forces more trendy, modern architecture upon our quaint downtown,” the petition reads. “The entire city has been transformed over the last few years and the square seemed to be the last little slice of the Bentonville we all love.”

In response to citizen concerns regarding construction, historic preservation, parking and other issues affecting all of Bentonville — not specifically the Blue Crane project — City Council member Cindy Acree is hosting a town hall on Sunday with the city’s planning director.

The original buildings within the area of the proposed remodel were first built in the late 1800s. A fire destroyed most of the original structures on the block in 1880, but by 1892, the buildings had been fully rebuilt, according to VintageBentonville.com.

The buildings have always been commercial spaces, over the years housing grocery stores, a telegraph office, church, dry goods store and more.

Following the fire, one of the rebuilt structures became home to an opera house that hosted Chautauqua assemblies — a popular cultural and educational movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

According to the book “Bentonville (Images of America)” written by local historian Monte Harris, most of the north side of the square was replaced with new construction in the 1980s, built to resemble earlier structures from the 1800s.