Engineering A Sustainable World-Class Campus

Located in the heart of Bentonville, Arkansas, the newly opened 350-acre Walmart Home Office campus was designed with community, connection, and sustainability as guiding principles. 

The campus includes 2.6 million square feet of office space, 1.6 million square feet of amenity space, and 10 parking structures—all planned to integrate seamlessly with the City of Bentonville. Walmart’s sustainable design and engineering requirements were embedded throughout to minimize the campus’s carbon footprint and support long-term environmental responsibility.

Walter P Moore has served as the lead civil engineering firm for Walmart’s Home Office campus since its inception in 2018. Over 80 team members have contributed their expertise across civil and water resources engineering, traffic and transportation engineering, and site structural design. 

From a civil engineering perspective, it was critical to integrate the local environment within the campus design to reduce the campus’s carbon footprint. Throughout the project, low impact development (LID) strategies, which manage stormwater runoff onsite to reduce impact on water quality, were consistently applied.

This began with effective erosion control and stormwater management, including bioswales roadways and drainage paths. All paved surfaces on campus drain into bioswales, ensuring that captured stormwater is filtered, treated and reused for irrigation and maintenance. These systems manage stormwater runoff, lower infrastructure costs, and enhance water quality before flows reach the storm sewer system. 

A signature feature of the site and a key component of Walmart’s commitment to sustainability is the extension of the Razorback Greenway Trail, which runs through the heart of the campus, connecting Town Branch Creek to Osage Creek. It functions as both a natural waterway and a scenic bike and pedestrian corridor. 

The Razorback Greenway incorporates local stone and native vegetation to manage water flow and naturally filter stormwater for reuse in the campus irrigation and maintenance systems. It connects to the North and South campus lakes, which serve as primary stormwater collection and storage features. Designed to actively treat, aerate, and polish stormwater, the Greenway removes pollutants and debris before water enters the campus lakes ensuring effective on site stormwater management while preserving and protecting environmental quality. 

Additionally, the South Lake is equipped with an OPTISystem, which uses real time data to optimize stormwater storage and controlled release. This smart system increases overall capacity and helps minimize downstream flooding, reinforcing the campus commitment to resilient and sustainable infrastructure.

The North and South Lakes also play a critical role in reducing potable water demand across the campus. Both lakes are integrated into the campus irrigation and maintenance system, substantially decreasing Walmart’s reliance on the City of Bentonville’s potable water supply for non-potable uses. By capturing and reusing stormwater, the system not only lowers water supply costs but also preserves high quality water for more essential applications on campus. Most important, millions of gallons of stormwater are reused annually for irrigation and maintenance supporting sustainability and operational efficiency. 

Walter P Moore incorporated these sustainable water management practices to ensure synergy between Walmart and the City of Bentonville. Walmart’s goal is to manage stormwater, reduce campus water usage, and improve the quality of water leaving the campus.

Pedestrian safety was a central focus of the campus mobility and traffic planning effort. Multiple design solutions were implemented to seamlessly integrate with the existing community’s pedestrian network while also enhancing the aesthetic and functional qualities of the campus. 

Prioritizing walkability and active transportation supports Walmart’s goal of having at least 10 percent of campus employees commute by bicycle, promoting sustainable mobility and reducing carbon emissions. The bike and nature paths not only extend and connect the Razorback Greenway Trail through the campus, but also link to surrounding trail systems, providing seamless access to downtown Bentonville and the broader regional network. 

Creating multiple access points was essential to strengthen connections between the community and the campus. This included the design of tunnels and new roadways leading into and around the campus. To improve pedestrian safety and eliminate vehicle-pedestrian conflicts, one street parallel to the campus was raised 10 ft, and another internal roadway was elevated by seven feet, enabling pedestrian tunnels in place of traditional intersections. 

To support efficient vehicle circulation, the team installed advanced traffic technology components and integrated them into the City of Bentonville transportation management system for real-time monitoring and continuous optimization. 

Additionally, the vehicular flow at a key intersection northwest of the campus was redesigned. Capacity improved at the intersection by the addition of a through lane, right-turn only lane, and converting to dual left-turn lanes. As a result, the average delay per vehicle was reduced by approximately 25 percent in the morning peak hour and by over 50 percent in the evening peak hour improving mobility and access for both Walmart employees and the greater Bentonville community. 

Finally, Walter P Moore conducted origin and destination studies to identify preferred travel routes and modes of transportation to and from the Walmart campus. These insights directly informed the design of the campus street network and the strategic placement of parking garages. 

Parking structures were intentionally located around the perimeter of the campus to preserve internal areas for active transportation modes, such as walking and biking. This layout ensures that all destinations within the campus are within a five-minute walk of a parking facility, supporting walkability, reducing vehicular congestion, and enhancing the overall pedestrian experience. 

The mass grading of the Walmart campus posed significant challenges due to the irregular rock formation and fluctuating groundwater elevations. Utility installation for offices, service buildings, parking decks, and amenities—including hydronics, sanitary and storm sewers, primary and emergency electrical, potable, and non-potable water, gas, and fiber optic communication duct banks—were completed primarily using direct bury methods.

Walter P Moore carefully designed the utility alignments to avoid conflicts with the variable subsurface rock conditions. The grading design was dynamically adjusted in real time as utility installation progressed, following the initial mass grading. To manage the complexity and streamline phasing, the project was divided into five construction zones—with Zone 2 further divided into north and south segments. 

The utility package spanned all five zones and encompassed the majority of the 414-acre campus. Each zone included multiple utility laterals—service connections from trunk lines to individual buildings. Miles of pipe and ductbank were intricately routed across the site to avoid utility clashes and adapt to the varying elevations throughout each zone.

Close coordination with the City of Bentonville, adjacent property owners, and Walmart was critical to ensure that both current and future utility needs were met effectively. The project also required the relocation of the city’s sewer distribution system and replacement of existing water lines to support campus upgrades. Comprehensive clash detection and strict adherence to minimum utility clearances, as required by the City of Bentonville, were essential to the success of the installation. 

As the Walmart Home Office campus nears completion, it has also driven additional economic development within the Bentonville area. New office, retail, and industrial projects have emerged within the city and Walter P Moore will provide engineering services for several additional major healthcare, education, and entertainment projects across the Bentonville area. 

These projects include the Alice L. Walton Foundation, Mercy, Heartland Whole Health Institute, and Cleveland Clinic Campus that will help expand access to healthcare and wellness throughout Northwest Arkansas. A new 115,000-sq ft University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Health Orthopedics & Sports Performance Center in nearby Springdale, and the Walton STEM Institute that is scheduled to open in 2028.