Business Heating Up in Hot Springs Office & Technology Park

Hot Springs Arkansas made a name for itself as America’s first resort – a dream vacation spot – and doing business there is a pleasure, too. That’s because Hot Springs is carving out another niche for the 21st Century: an affordable answer to business and industry.

Hot Springs' thriving business community is home to some of the state’s leading companies. Businesses such as Accent Marketing Services, Weyerhaeuser, Xerox, Stanley Associates and Arkansas Aluminum Alloy are just a few of the companies that call Hot Springs home. 

More than $100 million in technology, tourism, manufacturing, and life sciences projects have been announced in the past three years. The region is prepared to serve more high-tech firms with its new office and technology park that is accessible to the heart of the nation. Indeed, technology and transportation meet at the new 80-acre technology park located adjacent to the Hot Springs Municipal Airport. 

“The secret is out about the Hot Springs Office and Technology Park,” says Dave Byerly, CEcD, CEO/president of the Garland County Economic Development Corporation. This park serves as a catalyst to attract a diversity of office and technology-related industries.”

The Hot Springs Office and Technology Park offers a state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure perfect for call centers or other service center industry needs. Hot Springs also has industrial sites available at Mid-America Industrial Park, a 470-acre park serving the region with a unique industrial, cultural, educational and recreational development.

Both of these parks are located in the heart of the fast-growing Sunbelt region within one third of America’s population. While Hot Springs offers a small-city family atmosphere, there are more than 291,790 people within a 30-mile driving radius to ensure a readily available work force. Arkansas has a reputation for reliable, skilled, and productive labor. The state's Right-to-Work law has historically provided a compatible labor climate for business and industry.

A local community college and three universities located within 50 miles secures a continued steam of knowledgeable and available workforce.  Workforce training assistance has a strong track record through innovative programs of the local community and technical colleges. Labor costs in Hot Springs are also more affordable than those typically found in the Southeast and Southwest.

With the support of the Garland County Economic Development Corporation, new and expanding businesses can take advantage of many of the outstanding business development incentives. Tourism related businesses locating to the area may be eligible for some new impressive tax incentives offered by the state Hot Springs recently expanded and renovated its Civic and Convention Center, making it one of the best facilities of its kind in the United States. The National Park Service also offers an attractive lease program for several historic Bathhouses in downtown Hot Springs with excellent tax incentives.

The Arkansas corporate tax system is favorable to industry and its transportation system is complete. Hot Springs is served by Arkansas Midland Railroad, which is a short-line feeder for the Union-Pacific Railroad. Interstate Highway 30 is only 20 miles away by U.S. Highways 270 and 70. The area is also served by numerous motor freight lines and four transfer storage companies. The municipal airport offers commercial air service through Mesa Airlines and has charter service available.

Indeed, Hot Springs is a beautiful place to live, work and play. The cost of living is as attractive as the cost of doing business. And when you are done working, you can rest in knowing that Hot Springs is on geographer Warren Bland’s list of top 10 value cities. Hot Springs-based Coldwell Banker Alliance Realty data show that single-family homes from 1,600 to 2,100 square feet average $135,000 to $225,000.

Hot Springs was first certified as an Arkansas Community of Excellence (ACE) in 1994 and recertified in 1998 and 2005. An internationally recognized strategic planning process, ACE is the cornerstone of the Arkansas Department of Economic Development's community development efforts. ACE helps communities devise a blueprint to focus on economic growth by expanding their local economy and enhancing the quality of life for residents.