Just east of I-49 and north of Johnson Mill Boulevard, you’ll find a cluster of buildings with contemporary, arts-centric architecture buzzing with activity. This is Johnson Square: a multi-phase, mixed-use community. If you drive by the intersection of Main St. and Johnson Mill Blvd., you’ll see a six-acre division under construction right now. This is The Warehouse District.
Johnson Square will add over 90 acres of development to this area when finished, moving farther east, north, and up as buildings go vertical. Right now, the developers at High Street Real Estate & Development—the company behind the project—mark their progress as The Warehouse District completes by the end of the year. Throughout it all, they’re preparing for “Phase 2,” the final and potentially most ambitious phase set to occur.
While the final rollout won’t take place for another few years, there is a lot to enjoy now with even more to look forward to. Some of Northwest Arkansas’ most sought-after eateries are at Johnson Square, with two more coming to The Warehouse District.
Pizzeria Ruby has been recognized as one of the finest, most authentic Italian pizzerias in Northwest Arkansas, hand-making-and-tossing pastas and pies from an open kitchen. Known for large, New York-style, 18-inch pizzas, the warm atmosphere rings true to the classic pizzeria feel.
Hail Fellow Well Met by Onyx brings a different, more experimental vibe to match the artistic undertones of the area. The design flickers and dangles with plants, split-flap displays, and patterned walls, creating a modern and welcoming feel. The interior matches the food, with rotating menus offering everything from breakfast to dinner and coffee to cocktails.
The third restaurant in the area, Ozark Mountain Bagel Co., brings another metropolitan favorite: New York-style bagels. With a minimalistic, kitchen-home design, Ozark Mountain puts the emphasis on the bagels and contributes further to the welcoming feel of the district.
The best part about each of these places is their proximity to each other. With three of the most locally loved restaurants so close together and more to come, Johnson Square has quickly become a destination—and since it has gone three for three on restaurants, one can only have high hopes for those coming soon to The Warehouse District.
Beloved restaurateur and force behind Table Restaurant Group, Carl Garrett, will bring Floridian seafood to the area with “Table A1A,” while Juan Bahena (Tula, Taqueria Lucha) will bring Pacific Mexican cuisine with “Costa.”
This method of placing the best options close together represents the intentions of High Street Real Estate & Development. Building spaces where people and businesses can thrive and creating walkable, master-planned communities is at the heart of what they do.
Their goal for Johnson Square is to organize the essential ingredients any community must have right at residents’ fingertips. They view this project as the future of Northwest Arkansas, with The Warehouse District showing on a smaller scale what’s coming on a larger one.
Ward Davis, principal and co-founder of High Street Real Estate & Development, made clear, however, that these are merely the “bones” of the community. While he and his team remain committed to building with intention, he insisted that it’s the people who give it life.
“The character of the neighborhood comes from Onyx doing Hail Fellow Well Met and Michael Robert Shaw and Meredith Butler doing Pizzeria Ruby,” Ward said. “On one hand, we try to design stuff that’s very compelling to people, but on the other hand, we want to have a more modest approach to development than ‘this is the developers’ vision.’”
The idea for Johnson Square began as the rough concept of a town center initiated by conversations between Ward and his late business partner, Morgan Hooker. Ward met Morgan in 2004, and about a decade later they decided to make an official move when the opportunity arose.
That occurred in 2015, and together, Morgan and Ward founded their company to take on Johnson Square as their first project. When Washington Regional reached out about putting up a building, they had no choice but to get started.
Jason Keathley, former co-founder and Vice President of C.R. Crawford Construction, had known Morgan since around 2002 and agreed to help on the construction front.
“Jason thought we were half crazy to be putting up a building in the middle of this huge field,” Ward said. “We planned the rest of the neighborhood and had a spot for it, but we needed a building fast.”
Things moved along incrementally. Soon, houses, apartments, and offices started filling up empty space. By 2021, Pizzeria Ruby and Hail Fellow Well Met had opened.
Unexpectedly, Morgan passed away in 2022 during the height of development. This was devastating for the entire team at High Street and those who knew him. As one of the minds behind Johnson Square, his legacy will live on in each building, every planned space, and all the voices bringing life to the community he made possible.
In November of 2022, Jason moved from the construction world to becoming a principal at High Street alongside Ward. Their working relationship can be described as collaborative with friction, in which Ward dreams up ideas while Jason tells him what’s feasible.
“Sometimes we have to make a decision to do something different,” said Jason. “And then we come up with something better.”
As The Warehouse District comes online and Johnson Square “Phase 2” sits on the horizon, there is much to look forward to. Envisioned is a master-planned New Urban community with homes, apartments, townhouses, shops, restaurants, offices, and green spaces, centered around a public square for community events, all walkable and near the broader NWA trail system.
But, as Ward already noted, the character of a place stems from the people, and Johnson Square invites the entire community of Northwest Arkansas to join in on the energy coming soon.
“It’s going to be a lot nicer than they think it’s going to be,” Ward said. “And a lot more fun.”
If you drive by the intersection of Main St. and Johnson Mill Blvd., you’ll see a six-acre division under construction right now. This is The Warehouse District.
“On one hand, we try to design stuff that’s very compelling to people, but on the other hand, we want to have a more modest approach to development than ‘this is the developers’ vision.’”