A new neighborhood-scale development from OSD aimed at enhancing the lives of neurodiverse adults has broken ground outside of Fayetteville, Arkansas following a special ceremony held this week with the firm and its client, a local nonprofit organization called SLS Community.

Their master plan for a mixed-use and mixed-income tract called South Cato Springs will eventually endow the region with a workforce housing micro village that also features dedicated space for a new center for the University of Arkansas Medical School, recreation, and agricultural areas all surrounding a central town square on a plot located near Kessler Mountain Regional Park.

The firm says it will become an example of a concept it calls “mindful urbanism,” offering itself to the community as both an empowering care space and elevating pedestrianism that is built from and deeply rooted in the rich natural landscape surrounding its idyllic 230-acre site.

This objective will be accomplished using an ‘outside-in’ approach that defines much of OSD’s design philosophy. Priority will be given to both building typology and landscaped topography, with the creation of a bicycle-friendly mobility plan and spaces for vocational training included along with parks and space for viticulture and other types of urban farming.

Accessibility is also a top priority for the development, which offers maximized connection to regional transportation networks. OSD says the needs of the broader community will also be included in the development, which was designed initially with the help of Crafton Tull and CORE Architects.

Simon David, the firm's founding principal, said: "As Northwest Arkansas undergoes significant growth, we believe new development must find a way to enhance the quality of both the human experience and the natural environment. South Cato Springs presents an exceptional opportunity to create a new paradigm for inclusive living where neurodivergent adults can live and thrive in harmony with nature and the broader community, while honoring and revealing the beauty of the Ozarks." 

Ashton McCombs, the executive director of SLS Community, added: "Our hope is that the service, employment, housing, and community resources holistically brought together throughout the OSD design will help address the disparity of opportunity that too often exists for neurodivergent adults."

The New York-based OSD also recently began construction on its Alice L. Walton School of Medicine project with Polk Stanley Wilcox in nearby Bentonville, offering further naturalistic medical services to the state with completion slated for the fall of 2025.