Northwest Arkansas hogs much of the attention in the state when it comes to commercial real estate, but the state’s other upper corner has experienced its own growth spurt. Jonesboro, the de facto capital of northeast Arkansas, now boasts a population of more than 80,000 residents and a metro count of 135,000-plus. The cultural center and health care hub of the region, Jonesboro has seen its own commercial growth spurred by the 2016 completion of Interstate 555, the former Arkansas 63, connecting the city to I-55 at West Memphis.

Trumann is a sleepy city of about 7,400 — just off I-555 in Northeast Arkansas. It's about 15 minutes from Jonesboro and 45 minutes from Memphis. Many people in the city are employed by Roach Manufacturing Corp., a company that makes conveyor belts and is based in Trumann. Also right off I-555 at Trumann is a development that could change the city forever. Trumann officials are expecting explosive growth spurred by the project, with the head of its chamber expecting the city to hit 10,000 people in the next five years.

The small East Arkansas town of Trumann (population 7,332 in the last census), which like so many Delta communities has watched its downtown die, is about to be reinvented — and perhaps serve as a guide to other rural areas — thanks to the 140-acre mixed-use development Steel Creek.