Four of the five largest cities in rapidly growing Northwest Arkansas have had vibrant town squares.  The fifth, Johnson, now has one too!  Johnson Square is an 80-acre walkable mixed-use neighborhood centered on a new town square.  Its town square at the intersection of Main Street and Johnson Mill Boulevard gives Johnson a new heart.  The site has beautiful ravines, huge trees, a pond–and several large utility easements.  The founders, Morgan Hooker and Ward Davis, recognized this site as an opportunity to enable a beautiful hillside near the historic center of town to become a lively town center and neighborhood community.

A design charrette led by Michael Watkins Architect LLC was held in March 2015, with prominent architects Eric Brown, Michael Mesko, and Michael Romero participating.  Immediately following the charrette, MWA produced the rezoning application for the site in the form of a PUD, which the city of Johnson approved unanimously the following summer.  In January 2024, MWA returned to Arkansas to lead another charrette to help the second phase of the neighborhood east of the square to  MWA not only serves as Town Architect reviewing the architecture that gets built, but also in several other design capacities, working with landscape architects, engineers, and the founders to further detail the public realm.

The first building on the main square is open.  A few others soon will be.  Construction of infrastructure for the first phase of nearly 60 lots is well under way.