Block, Street & Building | Vol. 4 | 2018

BLOCK STREET&BUILDING

The Best of New Urbanism in Arkansas

PUT YOUR

HOPE INTO IT THE POWER OF TENACITY, GRIT AND VISION

> EDIBLE CULTURE > THE PINE BLUFF STORY > HEARING MINORITY VOICES

Volume 4 | 2018

ARGENTA PLAZA

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BLOCK STREET&BUILDING The Best of New Urbanism in Arkansas

36

put your HOPE INTO IT

The Power of Tenacity, Grit and Vision

40

impactful community ENGAGEMENT

The Importance of Hearing Minority Voices When Planning

Introduction

8

Letter from the Editor

Features

10 Activating Community

How Events Play a Role in Developing Place

20 Corporate America

and the Power of Place

The Value Large Companies Bring to Communities

22 Placemaking and Hospitality

A New Generation of Economic Development

26 Changing of the Guard

The Roles of Chambers and Downtown Associations In a Place-based Economy

54

revitalizing a DELTA TOWN

The Pine Bluff Story

64

edible culture OF ARKANSAS

How Great Food Can Shape a Place

New Urbanism Champions 13 Kane Web 18 Epiphany Morrow 24 Adam Rutledge 30 Stitches 38 Jonathan Shively 42 Monica Kumar 48 Jimmy Cunningham 50 Paul Esterer 62 Shirley Washington 66 Jennifer Keith

44 Teaching Streets Planning for Town and Gown

52 Tools of the Trade Benefits of Historic Tax Credits

ON THE COVER: A bustling Saturday afternoon on the vibrant corner of Main and NW Second streets in downtown Bentonville. Photo by Matthew Martin.

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Office Equipment Print Management Document Management Network Management All Of The Above

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BLOCK STREET&BUILDING A Special Publication of Arkansas Times KATHERINE DANIELS Publisher katherine@arktimes.com PHYLLIS A. BRITTON Associate Publisher phyllis@arktimes.com EDITORIAL MANDY KEENER Creative Director mandy@arktimes.com DANIEL HINTZ Editor AMY GORDY Managing Editor amy@arktimes.com

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POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

Letter from the Editor

“There is no logic that can be superimposed on the city; people make it, and it is to them, not to buildings, that we must fit our plans.”

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— JANE JACOBS

his quote from Jane Jacobs, the visionary whose work has been the foundation of new urbanism for generations, was the inspiration for this fourth edition of Block, Street and Building. While important to note that built environments help frame our communities and thus set the stage of place, it is the human spirit that brings life and energy—and thus value—into our cities and towns.

Respected colleague and Arkansas architect Rob Sharp often talks about the vital importance of concurrently developing the software (human element) to his hardware (building design). Perhaps, then, we can call this issue the place software edition, offering the basic program language of human engagement necessary to activate the DNA of Place™ that so many communities across Arkansas need to remain competitive in today’s global fight for talent.

The DNA of Place™ is a model I use for identifying the building blocks of a great community—safety, selection, service and surprise. Safety is certainly physical, as a mugging obviously distances one from feeling connected, but it also includes elements such as financial, emotional and spiritual safety. Selection is more than just housing typologies, the number of retail stores, restaurants or jobs. This DNA strand also includes the opportunity for a diverse selection of friends, mates and networks.

Service speaks to more than just what a city can do for you, although quality hospitality in daily life is important to great places. Service must include avenues for people to give their time and energy, to see a difference they can make and thus qualify their emotional investment. And surprise is vital to keeping the community fresh, whether for citizens who have lived there for years or tourists passing through for a day. Positive surprise is an enormously powerful hook to engage people’s imagination and get them asking for more.

Great places are cultivated and nurtured. They call for discovery and adventure, stimulate the senses, evoke memories and generate stories. And it is in the stories that the currency of place is made. It is my hope that these articles and profiles provide ideas and approaches to help each of you look to the greatest assets in every community—people—to create the audacious vision and an inclusive environment of opportunity needed to strengthen your own great place.

Daniel Hintz Editor, Block, Street & Building

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Building great communities in Arkansas since 1885 Community redevelopment is in our DNA. Since 2015, we have been leading the redevelopment of Little Rock’s East Village. The Bike Shop, Rail Yard, e-Stem East Village (with WER Architects), and The Distillery are just a few of Cromwell’s neighborhood building projects.

The Paint Factory serves as the flagship

renovation in the East Village neighborhood and houses Cromwell’s headquarters, Cathead’s Diner, and 12 Star Flats.

Home to the future Rail Yard and Count Porkula BBQ, The Bike Shop reflects the unique, industrial, raw grit character of East Village.

The Distillery is future home to the newest

addition to East Village, Rock Dental Brands. It includes new office space for 100 and a coffee shop.

CROMWELL ARCHITECTS ENGINEERS | 1300 EAST 6TH STREET LITTLE ROCK, AR 72202 | 501.372.2900

activating COMMUNITY How Events Play a Role in Developing Place

BY KEVIN KINDER, WRITER

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COURTESY MURPHY ARTS DISTRICT

I

n the early days of the Fayetteville Roots Festival, Bryan Hembree just wanted something that fit Fayetteville, and roots-style music sounded right. As it turns out, that concept was bigger than any one stage, and he learned that hours before the first event. A pipe burst just before showtime at the intended location, and he and co-creators Bernice Hembree and Jerrmy Gawthrop scrambled to move the bands to a different venue.

“We didn’t draw a picture of it,” Hembree says of the initial concept. “The idea was that it was for our community.” The community responded that first night and for many to follow.

The festival has swelled to multiple venues, multiple nights and multiple days of the year, as festival-affiliated acts are now routinely brought to Fayetteville outside of the five-day festival window.

The Hembrees are just one of many who have discovered that community engagement and events can foster or bolster a sense of place.

Austin Barrow was hired to bring a similar sense of community to El Dorado, which was losing population­—at least in part to its status as an entertainment desert. The president and chief operating officer of the Murphy Arts District (MAD) was told more than once that he was crazy for moving back when everyone else was moving away or going elsewhere to find things to do. Research conducted by Barrow and a St. Louis-based consulting firm indicated the average El Dorado resident was going out of town two weekends per month in search of entertainment.

Further research conducted via focus groups and interviews with city residents gave Barrow direction about the kind of programming MAD should offer, and the spirit those performers should embody.

Armed with that knowledge and financial resources from Murphy Oil, who needs talented workers to stay around, MAD is providing reasons to be in El Dorado.

Some 26,000 people visited MAD facilities during the opening weekend of events last fall. It’s worth noting El Dorado’s population is only about 18,000, according to recent estimates. Visitors keep coming, and MAD keeps adding things for them to do, like the opening of a children’s park called the MAD Playscape on May 19.

“The excitement hasn’t died down,” Barrow said. “We haven’t really rolled everything out.”

Barrow has been fielding an increasing number of questions about whether the successes of MAD can be duplicated elsewhere. He leans toward yes, but he offers qualifications, too.

“You have to have money. You can have a lot of great ideas, but without money it doesn’t go anywhere,” he said.

Munnie Jordan, the director of the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena-West Helena, knows that all too well. Twice retired from the role of executive director of the festival, but back at the helm in advance of the 2018 event in early October, Jordan says her nonprofit works at the capacity of its available funds. A successful year for her means attracting enough ticket buyers to pay the deposits for the acts she hopes to book the following year. It’s not lucrative, but it’s enough. And it’s of critical importance to Helena-West Helena, said Jordan, a lifelong resident.

She also knows why crowds return year after year.

The Murphy Arts District is host to numbers of events and festivals, drawing thousands to El Dorado’s downtown.

THE HEMBREES ARE JUST TWO OF MANY WHO HAVE DISCOVERED THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND EVENTS CAN FOSTER OR BOLSTER A SENSE OF PLACE. VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 11

PHOTOS BY BRIAN CHILSON/COURTESY HSFF AND THE ROOTS FESTIVAL

activating COMMUNITY

(Above) John Fulbright plays the Sunday Main Stage at the 2017 Fayetteville Roots Festival. (Below, from left) Musicians give concerts throughout downtown HelenaWest Helena at the annual King Biscuit Blues Festival. Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival patrons await the next screening in front of the iconic Arlington Hotel.

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ARKANSAS TRAVELER

A SAMPLING OF COMMUNITY FESTIVALS IN ARKANSAS

Arkansas features dozens of unique, community-oriented festivals.

— Hope Watermelon Festival, Hope — Toad Suck Daze, Conway

KANE WEBB

— Purple Hull Pea Festival and World Championship Rotary Tiller Race, Emerson — World Championship Squirrel Cookoff, Bentonville

K

— Buffalo River Elk Festival, Jasper — Pea Ridge Mule Jump, Pea Ridge — World Championship Cardboard Boat Races, Heber Springs — World Championship Duck Calling Contest & Wings Over the Prairie Festival, Stuttgart — World’s Only Championship Steak Cook Off, Magnolia

Executive director of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism

ane Webb was appointed as the executive director of the Department of Parks and Tourism in 2015 by Governor Asa Hutchinson. As executive director, Webb oversees all development and operations of the state parks, grants and technical assistance to communities for parks, the promotion of the state through the tourism division, and the fight against litter with the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission. A native Arkansan, Webb began his career as a journalist after graduating from the University of Missouri in 1986. He has worked for the old Arkansas Democrat, the old Arkansas Gazette and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, where he held several posts and won many state, regional and national awards.

What role does the concept of place play in the tourism industry? An enormous role. And it’s only increasing as we come to better understand what travelers are looking for—and that’s a unique, local experience. The key word there is “experience,” which is largely determined by quality of and sense of place.

Describe the role of the Arkansas Department of Tourism and how does that role value up the concept of placemaking? Our tourism division is charged with promoting and marketing Arkansas and enhancing our state’s image around the country and the world. Essential in making that happen is properly marketing Arkansas as an only-find-it-here place.

“We have found a niche. That’s the blues. That is our culture. That is our heritage,” Jordan said.

For Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival executive director Jennifer Gerber, her niche is just as much about the quirky resort town where the festival takes place as it is the world-class films that are screened each fall. Residents come for the films; they fall in love with the experience because of the town’s flexibility, history, walkability and its bath houses.

Kathleen Turner, the 2017 honorary chair of the festival, enjoyed the experience so much she extended her stay in town after the festival concluded. The way she embraced the festival is not unlike the way Hot Springs residents have adopted the documentary festival, now in its 27th year.

The response of the town serves as a lasting metaphor for what the festival offers Hot Springs and how entertainment events can define a place. And festivals like the documentary event in Hot Springs and those throughout Arkansas continue because of the resilience of those who believe it helps their communities.

“This festival exists because this town still believes in it,” Gerber said.

What is Arkansas’s biggest challenge for competing nationally for positive attention from tourists? Our biggest challenge is one of our oldest challenges, and that’s getting the word out so that folks who have never been to Arkansas come experience Arkansas. Once they do that, inevitably they want to come back and often fall in love with our state. I can’t count how many times I’ve used the phrase, “if we can get them here, they’ll love it.” And they do. As challenges go, this is a good problem to have, because it’s not a product problem, it’s an awareness problem. And we are working on that.

What is the greatest opportunity for Arkansas communities looking to establish a unique story? Our timing could not be better. Circling back to what travelers are looking for—which is the unique story and experience.

Every Arkansas community has its own unique story and its own unique vision. Don’t be afraid to play on that, market that. An ideal example of a small town that is cashing in on a unique part of its history and culture is Walnut Ridge, which has capitalized on The Beatles landing there decades ago.

What role can municipalities play in strengthening Arkansas’s brand?

By developing their own story and telling that story municipalities naturally strengthen the Arkansas brand as a place that is just plain different­—and I mean that in the best possible way.

13 | BLOCK, STREET VOLUME & BUILDING 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 13

Rooted in tradition.

Focused on progress.

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An Arkansas resource for the development industry.

Rogers

Little Rock

wlj.com

Little Rock: OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Situated in the heart of the Natural State, Little Rock is the center of everything that’s happening in Arkansas. From infrastructure to logistics, business-friendly amenities to quality of life, Little Rock is primed to foster new ventures while helping existing businesses grow.

CITY DEVELOPMENT Little Rock has benefited from the vision and pro-growth investment that has reimagined many of its core neighborhoods into thriving new corridors. In 2017 alone, new construction permits in the city were up 44 percent from 2016 with single family housing up 9.8 percent, multi-family housing up 80.5 percent, industrial up 92.4 percent and office construction up 226 percent.

This investment has literally transformed many of the city’s dormant assets into productive, vibrant spaces, notably Main Street redevelopment, the second phase of projects along Little Rock’s Creative Corridor; South Main’s renewal as a walkable arts and dining district and East Village, a clutch of former warehouses repurposed as flats, restaurants and breweries.

Throughout these vibrant downtown neighborhoods, art and commerce collide to create a 24/7 environment attracting millennials and other creative young talent eager to live and work in the city’s core.

Helping to foster the next generation of Little Rock companies is the Little Rock Tech Park, opened in March 2017, which has 45 businesses within its existing walls and more growth on the horizon via Phase II development. Little Rock Venture Center’s Fintech Accelerator has also been a stellar success, so much so that hundreds of startups from across the country vie for the privilege to participate in its programs.

Work continues on Main Street, notably a street and drainage improvement project that manages storm runoff through an innovative system of storm sewers, water gardens, pervious pavers and other enhancements. Once completed, the district will augment the city’s already high quality of place, as recognized by US News and World Report’s Top 50 Best Places to Live list in which Little Rock came in #38 besting such cities as Orlando, Chattanooga, Louisville and Kansas City.

littlerock.gov

BILL AND HILLARY CLINTON NATIONAL AIRPORT Transportation logistics are a primary focus for future business development and nowhere is that forward thinking on more ready display than Little Rock’s Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport.

Accommodating approximately 70 daily flights and nearly 2 million passengers yearly, Clinton National is home to 3,500 jobs and generates $1.2 billion in economic impact annually. This makes the facility both the pride and priority of Little Rock leadership, with more than $90 million in recent terminal improvements and $118 million in airfield improvements over the past 15 years. The airport has enlarged and renovated its ticket lobby and concourse to provide a modern appearance and updated amenities often unrivaled.

Clinton National is home to seven airlines, which include American, Delta, Southwest, United, Allegiant, Frontier and ViaAir. Combined, these airlines offer 15 nonstop routes and more than 300 destinations worldwide featuring single-stop service.

In addition to commercial air service, Clinton National is home to major players in the aviation industry, which is a leading export for the state. Foremost among them, Dassault Falcon Jet, operates its worldwide completion center encompassing 1.2 million square feet and the largest of the company’s facilities. The company also operates Dassault Aircraft Services, which is a service center for the Falcon product line.

Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines, is another corporate resident. Envoy opened a maintenance base in 2017 to provide scheduled maintenance for its Embraer E-175 fleet.

The Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission is currently finishing a master plan to identify long-term airport development needs. The plan will provide the Commission and its stakeholders with a comprehensive and organized approach for further developing and improving airport facilities over the next 20 years with an anticipated investment of $450 million.

LITTLE ROCK PORT AUTHORITY Providing a unique blend of wide-ranging industrial business and experienced staff, the Little Rock Port Authority attracts domestic and foreign manufacturing investment with solid growth in international commerce.

A central hub for rail, waterway and highway access for fast and efficient transportation, the Port handled 12 million tons of commodities in 2017 valued at $3.9 billion including steel, fertilizer, sand and aluminum on two full-service river terminals. Its industrial park is home to more than 41 companies representing three continents and supporting 3,500 jobs in industrial manufacturing, trucking, a fire station, a medical clinic and a myriad of other businesses.

One of the most recent tenants, TY Garments, is a Chinese company that manufactures Adidas sportswear Little Rock Port Authority Industrial Park and Armani clothing. Locating here last year, TY Garments represents a foreign directhe investment of $12.5 million, and will be employing more than 450 employees. serves the entire global market – more than 60 Located just a few miles east of downtown Little Rock, the 3,500-acre Port is in growth mode, adding 600 countries, from the U.S. to Japan, India to Argentina acres in 2017. Having been awarded a $6.1 million TIGER grant from the Department of Transportation, the Port will begin construction of thousands of linear feet of rail track to assist in barge transfers and will also allow the port to develop new docks and warehouse facilities.

This diverse business community is represented Financial resources and community support make the Port an extremely competitive option for companies. by more than 40 thriving businesses, growing These include industrial development financing available with negotiated city payment in lieu of property tax, bond guarantee by State Industrial Development Commission, sales tax exemption on new equipment, low locally and connected internationally – it has land acquisition costs and pre-employment training.

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everything manufacturers need to succeed now and into the future.

To learn more about available undeveloped land

CREATIVE CURATOR

Your work has taken you around the world. What are some of the similarities within the various communities you have worked in?

Despite the barriers of actual spoken dialects, when you create from a similar place of passion or purpose, mutual respect is given. I’ve been blessed to work in close to 10 countries, and when they observe that I would still create regardless of popular attention, because it’s just in me to do so, we begin speaking the same language. After that it’s just a fun culture exchange with hopefully some dope artistic outcomes.

What can a community do to help make it more attractive to young people looking to move?

Make them feel like it’s respected, unique and evolving. Folks like to be proud of where they live, while letting outsiders know why their spot is special. This often comes through arts and entertainment. These are two scenes in which individuals want to believe the best is yet to come, and thus work until that’s a reality. As a black man moving into an area, I also want to believe there are sincere strivings for equity and equality.

EPIPHANY MORROW Musician, artist, community builder and lead coordinator of Global Kids-Arkansas

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piphany “Big Piph” Morrow is a Stanford-educated emcee and community builder from Pine Bluff. He performs regularly with his seven-piece band, Tomorrow Maybe, and has worked with major acts, including TI, Big Sean, Snoop and Ne-Yo. He is lead coordinator of Global Kids-Arkansas, which sends stellar high school students in underserved communities abroad for social service projects.

He also has been a TEDx speaker and an artist, whom The Source has frequently highlighted. He has also served as Hip-Hop Ambassador for the US Embassy, traveling abroad to countries such as Morocco, Algeria, the Gambia, Seychelles and Thailand, where he performed, held workshops and created with the local artists. One of his current projects is jUSt Books & Bagels, which provides free books, breakfast and workshops for youth in underserved communities.

What role do the arts play in developing a sense of place?

Great artists tend to be the best of “contradictions” in that they have a distinct sense of individuality in their creations, yet you can clearly detect the influences in their work. Many of these influences are from what they have absorbed from their immediate—and often times physical— surroundings. As a result, artists in close proximity have similarities in their creations that in return inspire other artists’ works. The totality of which helps to define an area.

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As both a performer and producer, what does a community need to ensure creatives like yourself can thrive?

More financial support and opportunities and less online pats on the back. More areas that spark imagination and fewer closed doors by the traditional guard. More mentorship and access to business acumen and reduced fears of reaching outside of one’s comfort zone.

What are some ways communities can authentically and intentionally engage young people in crafting the future of the city?

The majority resource holders need to seek the artists and creatives outside his/her social circle, step inside their world, ask, and then sincerely listen. From that, figure out the best way to form a mutually beneficial relationship and stop expecting something grand to form immediately.

Build the bridges that connect communities first.

THE MAJORITY RESOURCE HOLDERS NEED TO SEEK THE ARTISTS AND CREATIVES OUTSIDE HIS/HER SOCIAL CIRCLE, STEP INSIDE THEIR WORLD, ASK, AND THEN SINCERELY LISTEN.

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corporate america and the

POWER OF PLACE The Value Large Companies Bring to Communities

BY JOE STUMPE, FREELANCE WRITER

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COURTESY MURPHY ARTS DISTRICT

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o understand why cities like Little Rock pursue corporate headquarters like Amazon, look no further than Bentonville and El Dorado. Walmart in Bentonville and Murphy Oil Co. in El Dorado aren’t new to those cities—on the contrary, both are homegrown—but these companies are still very much in the process of physically redesigning the towns.

Walmart has exerted such a profound influence on Bentonville for so long that it seems like nothing new can be said about the relationship. Then the company announced last fall that it is building a new, unified headquarters on 300 acres immediately south and east of downtown Bentonville.

“It will be transformative. It’s a game-changer,” Bentonville Mayor Bob McCaslin said. While no firm price tag or designs for the new headquarters have been released, expectations are that it will be a significant upgrade of current Walmart headquarters, for which utilitarian would be a kind description. “It will be grand,” McCaslin predicted.

In El Dorado, meanwhile, the Murphy Foundation is a prime mover behind the creation of the Murphy Arts District, a revitalization of eight downtown blocks. A farm-to-table restaurant, 2,000seat music hall, amphitheater capable of holding 8,000 people, and the largest playscape for hundreds of miles are up and running, with more to come, in an effort with a total projected price tag of $100 million.

“This is the most transformative thing that I’ve ever been involved with,” said MAD executive director Terry Stewart, whose previous jobs include running Marvel Comics and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. “It really affects a lot of people’s lives in a town. It’s unusual to be part of that.”

Arkansas is home to a couple dozen more sizeable corporate headquarters, including Stephens, Inc. and Baptist Health in Little Rock. Arkansas’s capital joined the long list of cities pursuing Amazon headquarters HQ2—which with 50,000 jobs would have dwarfed any other headquarters in the state —before withdrawing with a much-publicized “Dear Amazon” letter last October. The letter and accompanying PR campaign did exactly what it was designed to do: let other corporations know that Little Rock, while maybe not big enough for Amazon, could serve as a new home for others.

Corporations headquartered in several other Arkansas cities are also engaged in efforts to make brick-and-mortar changes to their hometowns, either through new construction or re-use of existing structures. In downtown Fort Smith, a subsidiary of Hanna Oil bought the vacant 40,000-square-foot former Shipley Baking Company building and is marketing it to potential tenants as “The Bakery District.” In Pine Bluff, Simmons First National Bank two years ago donated $2 million to Go Forward Pine Bluff—a strategic planning effort which could, if successful, lead to infrastructure improvements.

Northwest Arkansas is the only part of the state where three Fortune 500 companies—Walmart, Tyson Foods and J.B. Hunt—are headquartered, the latter two in Springdale and Lowell, respectively.

“They’re transformative because they allow cities to truly plan for the future and how they’re going to embrace the top talent that those corporations bring in,” Graham Cobb, president and CEO of the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce, said. “For Northwest Arkansas, that means how do we plan our cities and our region to serve the workforce of the future? We know that 34 people move to Northwest Arkansas every day. Now you see them moving here from the coast without a car. How do we plan for that? How do we talk about experiences and cultures that millennials and the creative class want so badly?

“That’s one of the reasons you see this focus on renewed downtowns, on planned streets that are programmed for pedestrians” and similar features.

Walmart heiress Alice Walton’s founding of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art was another “game changer” for the region, McCaslin noted. But the corporate headquarters, through

The Murphy Arts District in El Dorado infused energy and excitement into the city with the addition of an outdoor amphitheater, children’s playscape, restaurant, theater and more.

the jobs and economic substructure they create, remake the physical on a regular basis.

Within a half-mile of his office in city hall, McCaslin said, “You can probably find a hundred construction activities related to the fact that there are jobs here.”

Stewart noted that El Dorado houses headquarters for two Fortune 500 companies— Murphy Oil and Murphy USA—and actually had a third until the recent merger of Deltic Timber with Potlatch, an abundance which he called “unusual for a town of 19,000 in the middle of nowhere.” While that hasn’t created the boomtown-like conditions of Northwest Arkansas, MAD is a step in that direction, with a hotel and art gallery coming in the project’s next phase, and other developers working to improve the city’s housing stock.

While not every city will have a Fortune 500 company, the impact of home grown corporations and industries on a community is profound. Looking to create partnerships in the planning and development of that sense of place offers incredible mutual benefit.

VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 21

placemaking and

HOSPITALITY A New Generation of Economic Development

BY KALENE GRIFFITH, PRESIDENT VISIT BENTONVILLE AND GRETCHEN HALL, PRESIDENT AND CEO LITTLE ROCK CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

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hose of us who work in the travel industry not only need to work to engage and attract visitors, but we also need to be concurrently active in helping our community develop the products and experiences necessary to cultivate great places. Communicating the value of tourism and the importance of place to our political and private sector leaders is often necessary, as their decisions affect a city’s competitive position in Arkansas’s billion-dollar tourism industry. Our work directly correlates to local jobs and increased tax revenue. Simply put, cultivating great places for tourists and citizens is economic development.

Utilizing a workforce to serve as ambassadors for your community is a great way to begin. Service and hospitality training as well as visitor welcome initiatives come in many forms across the Natural State. The Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism operates 14 welcome centers that span each major highway entry into the state. The staff at these welcome centers is trained on all the wonderful things to see and do in Arkansas and can serve as great resource for waiters, retail workers and others to offer a positive message to visitors.

Moreover, it is certainly easier to share that knowledge in a genuine way if that staff is able to experience the offerings first hand. To provide hands-on experience to its staff, the parks and tourism department conducts week-long familiarization tours twice a year. These tours give every welcome center employee the opportunity to see and experience attractions, restaurants, lodging, parks, etc., in all areas of the state.

That in turn gives staff the ability to give personal recommendations to places when talking to visitors.

This creates a more authentic conversation with guests and delivers that “southern hospitality” our state is known for. Consider doing familiarization tours within your own community, offering ways for your citizens and workers to explore and rediscover their own community.

In the northwest corner, the Visit Bentonville team has created a web-based orientation for all frontline staff in the hospitality industry. The web orientation showcases the many attractions and events and provides customer service training for all new staff and employees. The online format makes it easy for frontline staff to be informed in case they are unable to experience all of the amenities or special events first-hand.

Moving from the mountains to the Delta, Helena-West Helena is an epitome of southern hospitality.

When visitors from the American Queen or American Duchess dock at the town’s River Park, volunteers greet them with complimentary bags full of information about the town and its historic past. Helena-West Helena and her residents also become “hosts with the most” each October, as the historic downtown welcomes thousands from across the globe for the annual King Biscuit Blues Festival. Hundreds of volunteers give their time to make festivalgoers feel at home in the Arkansas Delta.

In Central Arkansas, the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau provides complimentary on-site ambassador brand training for employees within the hospitality industry, including taxi drivers. Through the interactive and engaging instruction, attendees learn about the impact visitors have when they spend money in Little Rock. They also learn about the importance of their role in being knowledgeable and courteous frontline employees and how that translates to a positive visitor experience.

Hospitality is, by definition, “the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.” In Arkansas, the tourism teams across the state know that genuine hospitality extended to all visitors will guarantee growth in travel numbers and overall economic impact. Working with your hospitality and tourism partners to develop service and experience design trainings can offer a profound and positive impact on economic development strategies and move a community into the next generation of place development.

22 | BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING VOLUME 4 | 2018

HOSPITALITY IS,

BY DEFINITION, “THE FRIENDLY AND GENEROUS RECEPTION AND ENTERTAINMENT OF GUESTS, VISITORS, OR STRANGERS.”

VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 23

FUELING GROWTH What are the components you look for in a fundable project and what recommendations do you have for first-time developers?

The components of most projects are different, so we generally consider each project and the components that come with it differently. First of all, the economics have to pass our conservative underwriting.

We want to be a proud financing partner of the projects we finance during construction and upon completion. We always draw on our experience and protect our clients while helping our communities grow sustainably.

ADAM RUTLEDGE President and CEO of First Security Bank Northwest Arkansas

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dam Rutledge, a third-generation banker, began his career as a teenager at First Security Bank in Searcy. Rutledge is fortunate to have had ideal role models in his grandfather and father, who instilled in him a love for business and banking and the belief that community banking is about improving the lives of local families and businesses, regardless of their financial situation. Now, as President and CEO of First Security Bank Northwest Arkansas, Rutledge thrives in building and supporting both business and personal relationships for the bank. His position allows him to be active in the Northwest Arkansas community by serving on the boards of Life Source International, Work Matters, Boys and Girl Club of Fayetteville and the Walton College Dean’s Advisory Council.

Why did you get into banking and how has the industry changed since you first started?

I grew up in a banking family and it formed my initial thoughts on what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Today, however, I am in banking for the people, both customers and employees, and for the opportunity to improve the lives of both. These same customers and employees are the ones that make up these great communities of Northwest Arkansas.

The simple answer to the second question is working within the confines of Dodd-Frank regulatory reform legislation. Our main goal is to serve our communities and help our clients reach their goals with sustainable growth. The changes in the regulatory environment have provided good additional protections to consumers but have made it somewhat cumbersome for clients to borrow money, especially for consumer loan purposes. At First Security Bank, we try to strike a balance between regulatory reform and providing first rate customer service in a timely manner.

What role does community banking play in the development of great places?

We provide the capital to fund projects of visionary developers, who are also trying to give back to the very communities in which they live, work and love. Here at First Security, and at many of the community banks in our area, we provide volunteers to countless events. Many of these events are necessary fundraisers put on by nonprofits and community organizations. This is done through strategic partnerships with likeminded organizations that are striving to make a difference in the communities that make up this great State.

24 | BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING VOLUME 4 | 2018

First Security rehabbed its building along the Razorback Greenway in downtown Springdale. What was the process for making that decision and why? What role will the remaining campus play in the redevelopment of downtown Springdale.

The renovation of the bank’s building along the Greenway is a good example of adaptive reuse occurring in many portions of the downtown re-development. First Security wanted to help set the tone and set a good example for other projects to come. It was very important to the bank to retain and treat with sensitivity the distinctive and original features of the building while incorporating energy saving features, complying with updated code and accessibility requirements, and meeting the needs of the modern-day tenant. New materials and finishes were chosen carefully to complement the vintage brick, including copper, stained cedar, aluminum trim and galvanized steel.

The bank also took into consideration the proximity to the bike trail and has included expansive glass storefronts and glass, roll-up doors to make the most of the greenspace and foot traffic afforded by the trail and adjacent park area. What role will the remaining campus play in the redevelopment of downtown Springdale? Only time will tell, but we are excited about what is in the works with our entire footprint in downtown Springdale.

The bank was a significant champion of the City of Springdale and Downtown Springdale Alliance co-led master plan process and final document. Why do you think plans like those are important and what impact have you seen since it passed in 2017?

The master plan set the direction for the revitalization of downtown Springdale. Vibrant downtowns are the heartbeat of a community, and it is our hope that we may play a big part in the future of downtown Springdale.

I AM IN BANKING FOR THE PEOPLE—BOTH CUSTOMERS AND EMPLOYEES WHO MAKE UP THESE GREAT COMMUNITIES OF NORTHWEST ARKANSAS— AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF BOTH.

DOWNTOWN URBAN DEVELOPMENT.

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changing of the GUARD The Roles of Chambers and Downtown Associations in a Place-based Economy BY DWAIN HEBDA, FOUNDER YA!MULE WORDSMITHS

C

ommunities across Arkansas are discovering place building as an effective strategy for urban renewal, business attraction and workforce retention. Once thought of as community window dressing, emphasizing the nice over the necessary, place building’s emphasis on quality of life and community amenities is an increasingly valuable chip in the high-stakes drive for economic growth.

“Place building is an economic development strategy in which communities make the most of what they’ve already got and highlight it,” said Mike Preston, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. “A community can’t pretend to be something it’s not but instead should work to attract businesses and people that will appreciate its existing character.”

“While it’s imperative to have a good industrial park and shovelready sites for building and housing companies, it’s also important to build up a community by emphasizing what makes it unique and using that as a competitive advantage.”

Place building, while relatively new, has dramatically changed the way chambers and other entities approach economic development.

Utilizing a larger portion of the time, energy and resources traditionally spent directly on new business recruitment, place building channels that into making community amenities so appealing workers, entrepreneurs and companies aspire to locate there.

Put another way, it shifts cities’ mentalities from “If you come, we will build it,” to “If we build it, they will come.”

“Place building is a very different strategy than what would be considered the more traditional approach, which is just offer cheap land, cheap utilities, offer incentives, that type of thing. Place building is all about quality of life,” said Caleb McMahon, director of economic development for the Jefferson County Alliance.

“What’s happened here, for example, is we’ve been very successful in bringing business to the area in manufacturing, warehousing, distribution. The issue is, the people taking these jobs are from Little Rock or Sheridan and they move to bedroom communities or just commute here because we have quality of life issues.”

McMahon said improvement efforts there, as in other communities, 26 | BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING VOLUME 4 | 2018

follow the shift in attitude among a large portion of today’s workforce.

“I’m technically a millennial but I’m an old one, so I’ve always gone where my career takes me. It’s been more about the job,” he said. “But the trend now is, people pick where they want to live and then they take a job when they get there. That’s where place building comes in.”

Communities that have been successful in place building leverage certain elements inherent to that location to build their brand around.

A nearby mountain or other natural features, for instance, or a manmade attraction such as Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville are good anchors for such a strategy.

“Seven years ago, when Crystal Bridges opened, that provided the real catalyst to begin to enhance quality of place,” said Graham Cobb, president and CEO of Greater Bentonville Chamber of Commerce. “It was a real shot in the arm as far as place goes, because overnight we [became] one of the top five destinations for arts.”

However, Cobb quickly added the presence of a cornerstone attraction doesn’t in and of itself define quality of place.

“We also had to look at what that meant in our overall story. What do we want to go and do? What do we want to be? Who do we want to be? Who do we need here to help us become that and how do we attract them? We now are in the process of developing the resources to tie all of it together and present it in a way that will make them want to be here.”

For those communities lacking built-in anchors and who must create experiences and attractions, place building often entails downtown neighborhood renewal, historic area designation or creating pockets of expertise such as for entrepreneurs.

But sometimes, as Brad Lacy, president and CEO of the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce noted, deficiencies of place can be something far less conspicuous.

“I think many times communities need a wake-up call to understand there are deficiencies that are beyond what they currently understand,” he said. “For us, that was 1998 when [database marketing giant] Acxiom moved their corporate headquarters to Little Rock.”

“It almost was counter-intuitive with what was going on in the community because the ‘90s were a decade of astronomical growth

A mixture of restaurants and retail spaces keep downtown Conway bustling.

VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 27

changing of the GUARD here. The city grew 63 percent in that decade, everything appeared to be great. But we weren’t growing the right way to support a company like [Axciom].”

Lacy said the loss of the company, which has since returned to Conway, boiled down to something that trumped all the incentives, green spaces and revitalization the city could come up with—Faulkner County was dry.

“We didn’t realize that it was quality of place issue; that wasn’t really a phrase back then,” Lacy said. “But it was the stark reality of what was happening. How do you get people to stay downtown past 5 p.m. or how do you expand your restaurant scene; the common denominator on all of it was changing liquor laws.

Restaurants aren’t going to invest to transform some of these buildings without having that. Once that changed, downtown changed dramatically.”

In some areas of the state, entities have done a good job knitting together various community stakeholders to adopt strategies across a wider area. Such is the case in northwest Arkansas where cooperation among communities in relatively close proximity has yielded benefits for all.

“The leaders here have bought in to this idea of taking a regional approach, identifying priorities that will impact and benefit the region and that a rising tide lifts all boats,” said Nelson Peacock, president and

“A community can’t pretend to be something it’s not but instead should work to attract businesses and people that will appreciate its existing character.”

CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council. “If a business were to come here, Fayetteville and Springdale might put their best foot forward, but they really don’t care necessarily where the business locates because it’s going to benefit everyone.”

In the hyper-competitive world of economic development, such magnanimous attitudes can seem farfetched. In northwest Arkansas’s case, however, landslide population growth by non-natives tends to blunt homegrown rivalries.

“You’ll find 56 percent of the people here are not from northwest Arkansas. And most of those people don’t really care if it’s Fayetteville or Springdale or Rogers; they’re regionally focused,” Peacock said.

“We’re promoting a regional brand that’s not tied to what city you’re in, what high school you go to and who you root for on Friday night. That’s the least of our concerns at the council, and I think most regional leaders agree with that.”

Another element that place building has changed for chambers of commerce has been the breadth of vision with which they view their areas of responsibility.

“Having a holistic economic development strategy is vitally important today as opposed to 15, 20, maybe even 10 years ago,” said Jay Chesshir, president and CEO of Little Rock Regional Chamber.

“Today, it’s more important to focus on why this would be a good place for people to come, or giving more people who are here an opportunity to stay and grow.”

“That makes place making a priority in almost everything we do because if it isn’t good for the community, if it isn’t good for the economy, if it isn’t good for the environment, if it isn’t good for the whole spectrum of Little Rock, then long term, it won’t be sustainable or successful.”

Chesshir said, unlike previous eras, the question of “why” takes on paramount significance and resources are proportionately expended to answer that question across a variety of demographics.

“Over the last 10 years, we’ve focused on trying to make Little Rock a choice,” he said. “Whether that be from a public education perspective, an entertainment perspective or from a business location perspective, all of that really revolves around why somebody would choose to live in this city and this region and what do others have that we don’t that we can add to make us more competitive.”

Such answers don’t come in a vacuum; experts say place building strategies thrive on ample grist of ideas and input from which to grind community goals and objectives. In the effort to improve the quality of place, many communities undergo formal planning processes utilizing as much community 28 | BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING VOLUME 4 | 2018

PHOTO: MATTHEW MARTIN

Since the opening of Crystal Bridges seven years ago, downtown Bentonville has grown and expanded to keep up with the tourism boom.

input as can be practically gained. A growing number have even formed separate organizations, such as the two-year-old Jonesboro Unlimited, to carry out executables rather than layering it over existing organizations’ workloads.

“Oftentimes a plan in and of itself is fine, but a plan that’s implemented is really where the work is and where the benefit and payoff is,” said Mark Young, president of Jonesboro Unlimited and Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“Jonesboro Unlimited has really helped us put our plan in motion and really focus on implementation. It’s provided us another tool, another level of resources, that otherwise we would not have had to get to the challenging work of growing our economy and focusing on key areas.”

Young said coordination is key to making Jonesboro’s strategy work. A business need, such as workforce development or talent retention, might have three or four task forces at work in the community, plus individual companies’ recruitment initiatives. Groups like Jonesboro Unlimited help align these efforts and provide common ground for various stakeholders, which is not only more efficient but holds everyone accountable to moving initiatives forward as a whole.

“I think that is a good way to do things; we’ve had success, we anticipate we’ll have continued success,” Young said. “But we also know that it never stops. A vibrant community is one that always looks forward and tries to continue to improve its quality of life for its citizens and its future citizens. That’s what we’re intent on doing as well.”

VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 29

A COLLECTIVE FOR INCLUSION

WE EMBRACE THE FUTURE OF URBAN LIVING

Now more than ever, infrastructure that supports city living is a vital part of planning for our future.

At LRWRA, the work we do through continued preventive maintenance and upgrades to the city’s sewer lines supports the creation and restoration of communities that are diverse, prepared for mix-use and foster sustainability.

For more information on LRWRA and its projects, visit lrwra.com.

2017 RECEIPIENT

LRWRA.COM

|

501. 376. 2903

30 | BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING VOLUME 4 | 2018

ANTHONY GARCIA, ARELY TORRES, NICOLE VASQUEZ, MAXIMILIANO PEREZ, SAMUEL LOPEZ, KARA CHANHTHALA, KENNY ARREDONDO Artists and community activists, Springdale

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titches is an artist and community activist collective in Springdale. In 2015, co-founder Samuel Lopez asked several friends interested in art and the community to join him at a downtown master planning initiative meeting in Springdale. The group’s participation had a profound and positive effect on the master plan vision.

Soon after the community meeting, Stitches jumped into action by holding several community service and cultural awareness events at the Jones Center for Families in downtown Springdale. Their work and high energy was quickly noticed by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which contacted the group to develop a pop-up light-art show for one of the museum’s events. Stitches has continued to find ways to serve the Northwest Arkansas community, becoming an important regional voice for the arts, youth and inclusive community development.

The following answers have been compiled from a group interview with Stitches.

What is the mission of Stitches?

We are a group of artists and activists who saw challenges in our community that needed to be solved. There was a misunderstanding and a misrepresentation of young people—particularly people of color and young immigrants—within Springdale. Stitches came together to show that there is a place in the conversation for young people, for artists and for the community of immigrants. We want to help create a new world that empowers and inspires people to learn, collaborate and discover.

What are some of the barriers to getting your voice heard?

We don’t always have the same opportunities as people in white America.

We don’t always have the ownership of conversations that affect our community. We don’t always fit in. Springdale is a large community of blue-collar workers, and that is the representation and the stigma of our community. There are a lot of hardworking people, but that working class is often under-represented in community conversations.

Another big problem is the language barrier, trying to get folks to understand the technical and legal information in conversations from both parties. This often creates disjointedness, particularly within the older immigrant community.

We also see specific barriers for young women, as most conversations in places of power are dominated by men. Women in society are looked at as being quiet. Even within Stitches, we weren’t aware of this issue.

We have become aware of this and work hard to make sure everyone in the group is heard. Empowering mothers, daughters, grandmothers to be bold, not to be tamed, and to speak their minds is a big part of our efforts.

There are a lot of issues to tackle in the world. How do you find focus?

We are all individually passionate about something, but the strength of the Stitches approach is our process to find the connections between all those passions. The team compares our individual approaches to a subject and then works together to come up with a collaborative first step. We then keep engaging with each other throughout the entire process of the project…and we are learning how to chew one bite at a time instead of eating the whole apple at once.

How do you build a community around a Stitches project or initiative?

Stitches is a collective of people, but we each offer distinctive perspectives.

Our success has put us in a position of influence and our growing diverse network of talented people makes a big difference. Finding where we fit into a conversation is important and we want to use that platform to give people a voice.

We have been around for three years and are now just getting to a solid foundation…a solid platform for our work. Patience is something that you don’t always have as a 17-year old. There are times we start stressing about how slow things move and it takes time for the momentum to build up. But when it starts moving, other people come along to help push it.

And that is where we are. More people are seeing our work, and now more people are coming to us. That expands our network, which expands our collective efforts.

Part of this learning process is also about how to handle the expectations that people put on us as part of the group’s success. We have been working with our hearts and people are noticing, inviting us to expand or asking us to help with their projects.

425 West Capitol Ave. #300 Little Rock, AR 72201 501.375.3200 flakeandkelley.com

What is your definition of place?

The members of Stitches have a certain reverence for Springdale and we don’t know if we could have gotten the same feeling anywhere else.

We still see the issues, the challenges, and still feel the problems of this community. We have invested a lot of our blood and sweat in the ground here. To create a new world of empowerment and to reap what we sow, our intuition says to keep pushing, to keep moving forward.

Be the light in the dark room, be a welcoming soul, make your bed every morning, don’t limit yourself with a single perspective, and surround yourself with amazing people. These are the ingredients of place. Life is a beautiful mess and we can clean it up together.

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LITTLE ROCK

ROGERS

FAYETTEVILLE

BUILDING STRONGER

COMMUNITIES From the Hillsboro Gateway Plan in El Dorado to the Main Street Revitalization in Little Rock to the RUSSELLVILLE

roads and bridges that connect them. Crafton Tull is Building Stronger Communities by renewing a

EL DORADO

sense of place through shared experience.

CONWAY

PINE BLUFF

32 | BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING VOLUME 4 | 2018

BENTONVILLE

DEVALLS BLUFF

NORTH LITTLE ROCK

Build Your Dreams in Argenta.

ARGENTA PLAZA From empty buildings and parking spaces to a vibrant, historic boutique downtown, the ARGENTA ARTS AND INNOVATION DISTRICT is now home to art galleries, residences, offices, restaurants, wine and craft beer bars, a comedy club, a community theater, the 18,500 seat Verizon Arena and award winning Dickey Stephens Park baseball stadium, the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, an intercity trolley, and most importantly PEOPLE. Ongoing difference making developments include a new apartment complex, an office building, a corporate headquarters and a mixed use building, all of which happened because of a newly created public space, the ARGENTA PLAZA! Even after all the recent activity, INFILL OPPORTUNITIES EXIST on both public and private sites in Argenta.

It’s not too late to be an agent of change.

ORANGE ST

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0.19 acres W 7TH ST

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Argenta Plaza

2.06 acres W 2ND ST

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1.28 acres

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5.6 total acres, ~1 acre available

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At the corner of Third and Rock streets in Little Rock, the River Market Tower brings together condo-living, restaurants, shopping and entertainment in the growing River Market District.

put your HOPE INTO IT The Power of Tenacity, Grit and Vision

PHOTO: MATTHEW MARTIN/BRIAN CHILSON

BY MATTHEW PETTY, PRINCIPAL AT INFILL GROUP

(Above) The Argenta Arts District is a culture hub with several art galleries, a theater, comedy house, restaurants, creative spaces, breweries and more. (Right) The Unexpected in Fort Smith infused life and energy into the community with the installation of several murals throughout the city.

THE JUDGE DIDN’T LAUGH BUT HE GRINNED BIG AND TOLD ME “IT TAKES SO MUCH TIME BECAUSE THAT’S HOW MUCH TIME IT TAKES. IT DOESN’T GET DONE IF YOU GIVE UP.”

36 | BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING VOLUME 4 | 2018

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n 2013, I was beginning my fifth year as an alderman. I was losing hope. I was frustrated because everything I wanted was taking so long—or getting shut down completely. I sought out Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines when we were both at a conference. I thought he could give me a secret recipe for success. Instead, he gave me unexpected advice I will never forget.

I’m now serving my 10th year as a council member for the City of Fayetteville and people are starting to ask me for advice like I asked the judge. I shared my complaints and what I hoped he could teach me. I remember his answer like this: the judge didn’t laugh but he grinned big and told me “It takes so much time because that’s how much time it takes. It doesn’t get done if you give up.” I’m serving my 10th year as a council member now and people are starting to ask me for advice like I asked the judge. I tell people something a little different than what the judge told me, but my big grin is the same as his. “If you keep going, you can be the one who gets this done.”

And I like to tell stories that prove it’s true.

Fort Smith is writing one of those stories now. Anyone who still thinks Fort Smith is dying is wrong; it is alive! There is a special team that started going to work every day five years ago to focus on making Garrison Avenue and 16 surrounding blocks a better place. There weren’t many people who believed they would succeed at the beginning, but now almost everyone can feel the change.

The Fort Smith team calls themselves 64.6 Downtown. They began with a belief that the only thing holding Fort Smith back was Fort Smith itself, and they had a plan to fix it. They started with a downtown mural festival called the Unexpected—now in its fourth year.

You’d be right if you judged it a successful festival, and you’d be missing the point entirely. Something changed in Fort Smith after the first Unexpected. The art was unlike anything the community had ever experienced, and so everyone

had an opinion, but they had a new thing in common, too. No one wanted to write off downtown Fort Smith anymore. They had their hope back.

They were ready to work, even if it took years. And so they are. Claire Kolberg has been on the 64.6 Downtown team from the beginning.

What she told me reminded me of the advice Judge Villines gave me five years ago, and she said it in a matter-of-fact way: “We realized no one was going to come save Fort Smith, and we can do it ourselves.”

Leaders in other communities are expressing the same thing. One of the other places I’ve seen it is North Little Rock. Leaders there have known their downtown is an asset for a long time, and in the past decade they have doubled their efforts to execute their plan for the Argenta District.

In 2015, I got to host North Little Rock Mayor Joe Smith for a seminar. For two-and-a-half days, he joined seven other mayors and eight experts in fields like urban design, engineering, architecture and main street development. We worked on concepts for the Argenta Plaza in that room three years ago, and the idea wasn’t new then. Now the designs are nearly complete and the construction will start soon.

Mayor Smith persevered, and when the Argenta Plaza is finished it will be one of the best public spaces in all of Arkansas.

It took a decade or longer, but neither Mayor Smith nor his predecessor would let anyone give up. They didn’t let anyone on their teams wait for someone else to do it. And it’s not just the Argenta Plaza; it’s everything being done for downtown as a whole. That’s the attitude and approach it takes.

Greg Nabholz, a consultant and developer who is both a long time resident and investor in the Argenta District says it takes a group effort with imagination and energy to deliver the vision and collectively work to make it a reality. “You can never stop dreaming about what your neighborhood can be and that is what continues to happen here.

What is most exciting is seeing these dreams becoming reality.”

Over and over again, I’ve been referred to Amy Whitehead’s

community development program at the University of Central Arkansas, so I asked her what it takes for leaders and citizens to experience that ‘Aha!’ moment. Amy has helped dozens of Arkansas communities chase their dreams for healthy downtowns and Main Streets. She told me “The first thing that needs to happen is people have to realize no one will do the work for them. Then, someone needs to feel empowered that they can step up.”

Amy’s answer rings true for me. In all the case studies of towns that are enjoying success or revitalization, the moment when things start to get better is when hope comes back. It’s because people with hope don’t give up.

It’s actually not complicated to bring hope back. It’s as simple as inviting people to share their dreams out loud. People feel a kind of permission to hope again when they know other people share their aspirations for their city. They become willing to work hard for as long as it takes because they know their personal effort won’t be wasted.

Amy explained to me “In almost every community we work in, people are inspired to find out they agree with one another.”

It’s the work plan that follows that is hard and complex. Executing a downtown master plan, building an arts corridor, or even bringing back a single block on Main Street takes years, and it takes teams.

Leaders that blow off ideas for reasons like “they tried that a long time ago” or “this is how we’ve always done it” are undercutting their chances. They should empower citizens who are eager to make personal investments in placemaking.

The last city I will mention is Pine Bluff. With a new downtown association, brewery, blues club, theatre, library, aquatic center, parks, upcoming streetscapes, and a nothing-will-stop-us attitude, the city of Pine Bluff has decided they will give it everything they’ve got. Their dream is to be the greatest comeback story Arkansas will ever have. I believe in them, because I’ve seen that attitude before. It wins.

VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 37

BUILDING PLACE

the external factors at play. It is possible the contractor has only built in rural areas or urban sprawl and may not have the tools to work through some of complications that come with building downtown in tight spaces or working through street closures. Construction projects are partnerships, and, although it can be daunting to do your research, inevitably it will work to your project’s benefit.

JONATHAN SHIVELY Co-founder/president of Central Construction Group and Southland Building Materials

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onathan Shively is the co-founder and president of Central Construction Group and Southland Building Materials. Prior to joining CCG, Shively was a managing director at Stephens Inc., a financial services firm, where Shively was the head of the institutional equity sales teams for both Europe and the southwest United States. Shively holds series 7, 63, and 65 licenses with First Financial Services in Little Rock. He is currently on the board of Our House, a shelter for the working homeless in Little Rock. He and his wife, Valerie, are members of Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church and have two children, Collins, 4, and Hendrix, 2. Shively is a 1992 graduate of Little Rock Central High and a 1996 graduate of the University of Colorado-Boulder, where he majored in International Business.

What advice can you give a first-time developer when looking for a general contractor or individual contracted skill?

After opening up the bidding process and always checking references, my main recommendation would be to look for a company with a reputation and skill set specific to the project at hand. There are intricacies with every different type of construction that only come with experience. A contractor knocking out strip centers may not necessarily be the right fit for a groundup apartment project, whereas apartments can be a good transition into the hotel industry. As you can imagine, restaurants or service stations have specific requirements due to regulations. In my experience, historic renovations are a different beast than regular construction, yet with great risk comes a great reward. Be careful not to just check the boxes or choose based solely on the lowest bid; take the time to research and really consider

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Why do walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods matter, and what can cities and towns do to make it easier for new urbanist projects to be developed in their community?

“Assuring the core of a city is healthy is like a body having a healthy heart,” my good friend and visionary for downtown Little Rock development, Jimmy Moses said. As you know, Little Rock experienced downtown decay over decades, and we are proud to be a part of the revitalization effort. Safe, well lit and walkable streets mean people are spending more time and money in the footprint of where they live, work and play. Their tax revenue stays in the community and generates revenue to encourage more development. Our partners look within a certain radius of well-populated restaurants and shops to build condos or apartments, allowing people the opportunity to save on transportation costs and commuting time. Communities looking to revitalize their own downtown can look no further than the likely abandoned Main Street for historic charm and space for condos and lofts. Abandoned warehouses are an opportunity for a mixeduse building with an industrial style. Investing in safe sidewalks and crosswalks, bike lanes and street lights are extremely simple things to show that city leaders are committed to new urbanism.

With an estimated shortfall of over 3 million people in skilled construction trades, what are some actions companies like yours can do to help fill the gap? What impact is this shortfall having on your industry?

This industry is encountering a structural problem. The recession caused skilled workers to leave the field and younger workers never filled the void. Students are learning computers, which is great, but they do not have access to woodworking shops or hear the value of skilled trades. Programs like the Arkansas State Chamber’s “Be Pro, Be Proud” are reaching out to younger generations to change the perception of skilled labor. There are great public/private partnerships providing workforce training, and we are committed to making our salaries competitive, as well as providing OSHA training, healthcare packages, and 401k matches when hiring so we can recruit and retain skilled people. As with all industries facing a shortage of skilled laborers, there are higher costs associated with delayed projects, and we work to combat this by utilizing construction management tracking software that helps us stay on track with our goals, identify baseline trends and carefully watch budgets. Kids interested in computers can still come work for a construction company and be involved with cutting-edge technology.

From a construction company perspective, what are the top priorities to be considered when a municipality wants to prepare for downtown development?

Construction projects are partnerships between the contractors and developers, as well as the end consumer and cities. Mayors and city managers need to be in support of the overall goal of developing the downtown, be prepared for growing pains associated and keep the end goal in mind. Prioritize providing flexible code enforcement or rapid plan approval for downtown development. Infrastructure repairs make projects viable for developers and contractors. Trust me, no contractor is intentionally trying to take up parking spaces or cause street closures, and old water and sewer lines or poor storm drainage can wreak havoc on a project’s success. Look back through the city’s ordinances and laws for unintentional consequences encouraging urban sprawl or destruction of historic properties, and proactively reverse the trend by working with economic development groups to incentivize downtown development.

How has the emergence of smart building technology affected your industry and do you see it having a significant impact on future construction?

Smart Building Technology is changing the way a building communicates with those that inhabit it. Smart devices are now being installed into systems and devices that have been around for years and changing outcomes. Heating controls and sensors for lights and water are reducing consumption. Behavioral adaptation and predictive maintenance are now firmly entrenched in new buildings, allowing centralized dashboards to control them. Visionaries and those who prioritize sustainability have led the smart technology emergence, and now consumers are coming to expect it in their offices and homes. Smart building infrastructure is most easily installed during construction, so architects and engineers have a duty to push these technologies where it makes sense. On the construction side, using smart technology saves time and money for contractors and developers and creates a better, longer lasting, more cost efficient product.

Project maintenance and communication tools streamline processes, keeping developers and architects up-to-date in real time, increasing precision and efficiency. We are already seeing the benefits of detailed, 3D, BIM modeling, prefabrication, 3D printing, robotic automation manufacturing, site drones, and even technologies impact on safety, making jobsites less dangerous.

SAFE, WELL LIT, AND WALKABLE STREETS MEAN PEOPLE ARE SPENDING MORE TIME AND MONEY IN THE FOOTPRINT OF WHERE THEY LIVE, WORK AND PLAY.

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CENTRAL CONSTRUCTION GROUP was ‘Built to Deliver’ results for real estate developers and business owners. From historic renovations, restaurants and retail, to ground-up hotels and apartments, our leadership team has the expertise to deliver from concept to reality. Whether in downtown Little Rock, NWA, or around the South, our management team works with developers to build their vision into superior projects.

CENTRAL ARKANSAS: 200 River Market Avenue • Suite 330 • Little Rock, AR 72201 NORTHWEST ARKANSAS: 745 East Joyce Boulevard • Suite 220 • Fayetteville, AR 72703 Ph: 501-244-9085 | www.centralconstructiongroup.net |

VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 39

impactful

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT The Importance of Hearing Minority Voices When Planning

BY PAM JONES, LEAD STRATEGIST AT CULTURALLY CONNECTED COMMUNICATIONS

It is essential for community leaders to reach out to residents and citizens in the cities they hope to improve. (Above) HelenaWest Helena is a Delta town working to create spaces for residents use and enjoy, and renovate a great number of historic buildings into vibrant, usable facilities.

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PHOTO: BRIAN CHILSON

W

hen examining the landscape of urbanism throughout Arkansas, the value of community planning and engagement is paramount. It means very little, however, if it lacks input and direction from minority voices. Following many years of disinvestment and neglect, mistrust is widespread among minorities.

Many institutions have not fully realized the benefit of collaboration and community partnerships, furthering tribalism. As communities continue to grow and evolve throughout the state, advocacy groups, planners, business leaders, policymakers, local development organizations, universities, foundations and local residents must work together within their respective communities to unify diverse and disparate interests and craft an authentic vision of equality and prosperity for everyone.

This is only possible if members of historically marginalized groups see themselves as full partners, having a voice and decision-making input to own the changes they want to see in the space they inhabit. How is this accomplished? Community engagement.

Community engagement is a process through which individuals are empowered to help generate positive change within their community through communication, problem solving, governance, and decision-making skills and strategies. Ultimately, this process fosters the transformative relationships and increased ownership necessary to build sustainable communities of opportunity. It also helps to forge and deepen partnerships by connecting the concerns of communities to the decisions that allocate local and regional public investment dollars. Engagement brings meaning and relevance to sustainability goals across a broad spectrum of players; and it encourages local innovations in sustainable development through creative problem solving.

Understanding that an intentional focus on community engagement can lead to transformative change, emphasis must be placed on the inclusion of marginalized communities in the planning process.

Community engagement, in this context, should focus on developing an inclusive process where community-institution partnerships can identify the creative solutions necessary to solve distinct local problems; for example, revitalizing a transit corridor, developing new transit stations or business districts, or redeveloping a brownfield, a former industrial area or a downtown.

While community engagement is often used to solve specific local problems, it is important to point out that community engagement is not just a set of activities and methods confined to a particular project, policy or process. Rather, it is a way of communication, decision making and governance that gives community members ownership over the change they wish to create, leading to equitable outcomes. Public agencies have a variety of tools to foster basic public participation and protocols for using them; however, many of these are ineffective because 1) they do not address the legacy challenges faced by low-income communities and communities of color and 2) they fail to tap into their expertise and organizing capacity.

Community engagement encompasses a more comprehensive approach, creating practices and institutionalized mechanisms that

share power and vest decision-making control in marginalized communities. When utilized to increase community power and agency for problem solving, community engagement, guided by the following key principles, becomes transformative engagement: • • • • •

HONOR THE WISDOM, VOICE AND EXPERIENCE OF RESIDENTS. TREAT PARTICIPANTS WITH INTEGRITY AND RESPECT. BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT MOTIVES AND POWER DYNAMICS. SHARE DECISION-MAKING AND INITIATIVE LEADERSHIP. ENGAGE IN CONTINUOUS REFLECTION AND WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE.

Transformative engagement can be the difference between a successful initiative and one that misses the mark. It enables highly technical or routine projects and processes to produce real, tangible and lasting benefits for communities. Summarized below are some of the benefits of community engagement: LEGITIMACY AND INCREASED SUPPORT FOR PLANS AND PROJECTS With the substantive engagement of affected communities, developed plans should reflect legitimacy, community support, and incorporate equity outcomes. Legitimacy builds trust, political will and ownership for effective implementation.

IMPROVED COMMUNITY/GOVERNMENT RELATIONS Community engagement can build trust between diverse stakeholders and help facilitate difficult discussions about racial disparities, economic conditions and community development needs.

By creating a multifaceted process built upon relationship building, trust, respect, and affirmation of community knowledge and power, more effective ways of dealing with differences emerge.

DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF KEY ISSUES. Input from the people facing and addressing housing challenges will result in stronger regional housing plans. Engagement from residents and organizations who possess not only first-hand knowledge of the barriers to job access, but also experience in problem-solving these challenges boost regional economic opportunity.

INCREASED COMMUNITY CAPACITY A meaningful engagement strategy will improve capacity for problemsolving. Engagement builds stronger networks across racial, ethnic, generational, gender, and socioeconomic divides—a vital component to achieving equitable outcomes and leveraging additional resources (outside of public processes).

REDUCED LONG-TERM COSTS Negligible community engagement can result in lack of consensus, causing plans and development projects to end up in litigation. While conflicts may arise during planning, the community engagement process creates an environment of positive communication where creative and inclusive solutions can be devised to resolve conflicts.

DEMOCRACY IN ACTION In many respects community engagement is a microcosm of the American democratic system of government. It is one of the best ways that community residents can help shape local and regional decision-making processes.

Fundamentally, community engagement is about sustainability.

And sustainable communities are communities of opportunity. They are places where all residents have access to the essential ingredients for economic and social success: living-wage jobs with health coverage, good schools, affordable homes, transportation choices, strong social networks, thriving businesses, safe streets, parks and playgrounds, and healthy food. Economists are increasingly recognizing that regions and nations that are more equitable also perform better economically.

How is successful, sustainable community engagement achieved?

While the methods and techniques used to increase participation of traditionally marginalized groups may differ depending on the context, the following strategies are useful in making informed decisions about how to generate proactive and targeted engagement: • Identify key community leaders to work with through existing networks of community-based organizations that serve diverse groups.

• Attend community meetings and cultural events as a participant. Identify key issues and listen to how they are discussed. Enter with a sense of humility and awareness of potential power dynamics related to race, ethnicity, citizenship, class and gender differences.

• Develop an awareness of city- or region-specific racial and economic disparities and why they exist.

• Seek out relationships with leaders from non-English-speaking communities. Collaborate to identify barriers to engagement with the community and ways to bridge the divide.

• Translate educational materials and provide interpretation at community meetings. Additionally, work with local leaders to identify trusted facilitators with experience working in the community.

• Engage faith-based organizations in the community to help bring hard-to-reach residents on board.

• Host a “meet and greet” with community organizations and advocacy groups to build connections across sectors and develop partnerships.

• Build incentives for engagement that reduce barriers to participation. Many residents in low-income communities and communities of color are from working families with busy schedules and childcare constraints. Meetings should be held in evenings and on weekends. Whenever possible, provide childcare, meals and transit passes.

ECONOMISTS ARE INCREASINGLY RECOGNIZING THAT REGIONS AND NATIONS THAT ARE MORE EQUITABLE ALSO PERFORM BETTER ECONOMICALLY. VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 41

PLANTING SEEDS

• Make sure you have diverse broad and wide individual input. Be thoughtful about giving voice to everyone in the community, especially those who do not traditionally speak up. Think about language options and cultural significance.

• Don’t forget young people and find ways to reach out that feel relevant to their interests.

• Make participation simple and offer multiple ways to engage. Not everyone can come to community meetings—how can you reach those who cannot reach you?

• Give those who challenge or are skeptical of your engagement efforts a seat at the table. Invite them to share their perspectives and give them opportunities to engage in ways that work for them.

• As much as possible utilize local groups and community leaders who are already doing the work. Try to resist the automatic impulse to bring in experts from other regions and, where they are brought in, encourage them to seek advice and direction from homegrown efforts.

MONICA KUMAR Co-founder of Kinship

M

onica Kumar and Jayme Brandt are co-founders of Kinship, a socially driven design firm in Bentonville that offers products, projects and workshops to ignite community change. Brandt is an artist and illustrator who works to make social and cultural issues feel authentic and relevant. Kumar is a human rights/ commercial lawyer who now works in community development. She drives change in organizations through engaging training and creative workshops to help people become transformative change-makers.

What was the catalyst for starting Kinship?

Jayme and I have spent the last three years cultivating a friendship, which is based on shared values and respect for human dignity. We were drawn to start Kinship, in part, because we wanted to share the connection our families have developed with our community and also explore ways of replicating it with more humans. The other motivation was born out of a belief that every single person has the capacity to do good and be good, and we wanted to utilize our business to give people a way to work together to make our world better.

Why is cultivating a sense of community important to the value of a city?

The derivation of ‘community’ is ‘public spirit’ and ‘shared in common,’ so I would argue that it is impossible to even think about building a vibrant and relevant city without deeply engaging a sense of community into the roots of the work. As we think about what makes a place of value or what makes a city unique and successful, we cannot separate individuals working together for a common purpose from the notion of a thriving city.

The two do not just go together; they are inextricably entwined.

What are some best practices in a relevant community engagement strategy?

I think best practices vary from city to city, but I also believe there are some fundamental truths in building community engagement.

• Intentionally engage multiple stakeholders, especially those doing the work on the ground.

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Who is doing this community engagement well and what are the results?

I think Nina Simon and her work in inclusion and building relevant spaces is outstanding. She offers multiple real-world examples of how we get it right and where we have work to do. I highly recommend her work to anyone looking to build welcoming, relevant and inclusive spaces.

What is the role of brand and storytelling in developing a sense of place?

Essentially your brand and your story are outward-facing evidence of why you are, who you are, and what you are. Of those three the ‘why’ is the most persuasive and the one best served by authentic storytelling.

Every aspect of developing a community is made up of storytelling moments, so capturing the detail and nuance of those stories is imperative. Those communities that take the time to figure out which story they want to tell and how they want to tell that story can drive success into their towns and businesses in a way that ensures steady and strategic long-term growth.

THE DERIVATION OF ‘COMMUNITY’ IS ‘PUBLIC SPIRIT’ AND ‘SHARED IN COMMON,’ SO I WOULD ARGUE THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO EVEN THINK ABOUT BUILDING A VIBRANT AND RELEVANT CITY WITHOUT DEEPLY ENGAGING A SENSE OF COMMUNITY INTO THE ROOTS OF THE WORK.

WE GROW COMMUNITIES From working with new or existing companies to working with government leaders, we help our communities grow and prosper. Together, the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas are your local energy partners.

VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 43

teaching STREETS Planning for Town and Gown

BY MATT HOFFMAN, AIA, DIRECTOR OF URBAN DESIGN AT MILLER BOSKUS LACK ARCHITECTS, P.A.

L

ike most places in America, the urban avenues of Arkansas comprise the vast majority of our public space. The presence or absence of bike lanes, street trees, sidewalks, parking, as well as nuances in building size, location, use and design can teach you almost everything you need to know about what is most important to decision makers. But what do these characteristics teach us about the values of people who live in these communities? The extent to which a community’s values are expressed in the design of its public spaces is perhaps one of the best measures of success in urban planning.

If streets are teachers, Duncan Avenue in Fayetteville is a visiting professor; one who is mature and experienced but more than a little confused about their surroundings. Running south from the University of Arkansas toward a formerly quiet neighborhood, Duncan lurches down the hill, simultaneously complemented by some of the best ideas in urban design and buffeted by some of the worst.

Like many streets in college towns across the country, Duncan has been subjected to an incredibly wide variety of development processes. Beginning with single-family homes built before zoning, Duncan is an odd collision of private projects built on a municipal zoning code that has struggled to adapt to the pace of change, on one hand, and public projects built according to the land grant university’s standard bureaucratic process on the other. The current Avenue offers a vivid look at the miraculous opportunities and unfortunate pitfalls inherent to making places in a thriving college town.

On the east side of Duncan Avenue, between William and Center streets, the university built what is perhaps the best example of modern townhouse apartments in the state. Maturing street trees partially obscure a very humane three-story façade with front doors, stoops, patios and balconies fronting a well-lit, well-trafficked sidewalk. Although the project was produced by the university’s inward-looking process with no public input, and without regard to the city’s zoning code, the end result is everything that Fayettevillians could want in public space. If you stand on the west side of the street and look east, the beauty of this project can almost make you forget what has happened on the rest of the street. Almost.

A few years after completion of the Duncan Avenue Apartments, a massive redevelopment of the area began with new investments coming in from the university as well as a host of private developments.

In the absence of direct coordination between the city’s development policy and the university’s growth strategy, several of the new buildings wound up dramatically changing the streetscape in ways that neither institution could have predicted. The resulting corridor is 44 | BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING VOLUME 4 | 2018

one where the beautifully crafted Duncan Avenue Apartments stand out as a bit of an anomaly in terms of their human scale and strong connection to the walkable street. The juxtaposition of different building types and architectural solutions exposes a period in the history of Fayetteville when the need for new development seemed to outpace the original vision for Duncan Avenue.

Through it all, U of A projects have continued to exemplify the high standards for quality public space that the Duncan Avenue Apartments so deftly employ. A new parking garage on Garland avenue to the north of campus is so successful in its design that officials in the city of Fayetteville now use it as an example of best practices in discussion of regulations for new garages. Here again, a sharp focus on the relationship between building and sidewalk gives the impression that Garland Avenue is a place for people, not just cars. The building’s layered plan strategy helps to accomplish this by providing a thin band of retail and other uses to insulate the street from automobile storage. Absent a public process, this success can best be attributed to the talent and vision of leadership within the University of Arkansas’s planning office. This insular course of activity, while at times fragile, represents the norm in most university towns throughout the country, but that may be changing.

If Duncan Avenue is a visiting professor, El Paso Avenue in Russellville Arkansas is an assistant professor—young, ambitious and determined to change the way we think about town and gown development. The street was historically undervalued and underinvested until a few years ago. Buildings in the area mostly still resemble the first phase of Duncan’s improvement with small historic homes and vacant lots punctuated by clumsily placed and poorly cared-for multifamily buildings constructed before zoning and development codes. The old El Paso espoused no particular set of values, instead reflecting the type of “anything goes” atmosphere that is pervasive among many small towns in Arkansas.

Owing partly to the success of off-campus development in Fayetteville and Conway, and to new leadership in the city and at Arkansas Tech University, community leaders have recently set out to change El Paso’s story for good. Their aim is to turn Russellville from the “suitcase college town” that it has been, one where everyone goes home on the weekend, to the thriving community that it could be.

Beginning with Russellville’s first downtown master plan in 2008, leaders in City government realized that El Paso could be something special. The street runs south from the campus of Arkansas Tech University to Russellville’s historic downtown a mile away. This first planning effort focused on mobility, with the goal of creating a walkable and bikeable corridor connecting Russellville’s two cultural

PHOTO: MATTHEW MARTIN

The Duncan Street Apartments offer housing in a walkable community to students at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

LIKE MANY STREETS IN COLLEGE TOWNS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, DUNCAN HAS BEEN SUBJECTED TO AN INCREDIBLY WIDE VARIETY OF DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES. VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 45

EL PASO AVENUE CONCEPT PLAN COURTESY MILLER BOSKUS LACK ARCHITECTS, P.A.

teaching STREETS

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centers. The City set to work immediately transforming the aging street section into a walker’s paradise, complete with sustainable storm water infrastructure, landscaping, protected bike lanes and sidewalks. When it came time to do an update to the original downtown master plan a few years later, all that was needed at that point was a game plan for development of new buildings along the corridor. What happened next represents nothing short of a complete departure from the norm in college town planning.

Working together, a joint committee including the mayor, city planners, business leaders, the president of the university, and other university faculty and staff set out to create a truly shared vision for new development in the El Paso corridor. Aware of the Duncan Avenue style mismatches that can sometimes result from rapid expansion into a community, the committee took great care to design a planning process that would address the needs of a growing university while reflecting the values of the broader community.

Early stages of the process focused on development demand.

Detailed studies were commissioned to analyze growth characteristics, both within the university and throughout Russellville. As the major driver of development in the area, the university’s recently completed strategic plan provided a wealth of insight. Several rounds of interviews with stakeholder groups provided perspective from university faculty and staff, students, local business leaders, property owners and renters. An online presence utilizing #ExperienceElPaso extended the reach of public input, and Pop-Up events on the street allowed the public to visualize new types of activity in real time. Ultimately, thousands of people were able to take part in a conversation about the future of their community. The public process culminated with a community workshop that allowed the president of the university, the mayor and members of the public to sit face-to-face with designers crafting a vision for the corridor.

In the following months, city planners set to work transferring the vision of the master plan into a legal zoning and development code to be taken up by the city council. Ideas about the height of buildings, architectural elements, allowed uses, landscaping and parking were all codified, and ultimately became law in the City of Russellville.

While the new code doesn’t technically apply to Arkansas Tech, a state university, the school views the document as a binding commitment to their community. This type of commitment wouldn’t be possible if not for the high level of cooperation between the city, the university and the people of Russellville. As development of El Paso continues to mature, it stands to reason that this Avenue will have a lot to teach about the values of the community that created it.

In the coming years, development pressure will continue to test collegiate communities around the state, and we can expect innovation to come in many different forms. Planned buildings at the University of Arkansas’s new Arts District and Stadium Drive are pushing the envelope in terms of building technology, utilizing a new structural material called Mass Timber to catalyze a community-wide commitment to sustainability in the building industry. Meanwhile, off-campus developments in Conway from both Hendrix College and the University of Central Arkansas are pushing the boundaries of placemaking in Arkansas by reintroducing walkable development patterns in formerly autooriented districts. While growing pains are inevitable, college towns throughout Arkansas are well positioned to lead the conversation about placemaking in our state, and their streets will tell the story.

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VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 47

COMMUNITY STORYTELLING

How do stories value or de-value a community, and what is their role in strengthening a sense of place?

When an area like the Delta is constantly characterized through media and other sources as a place with a declining population, a shrinking tax base, poverty, unemployment and a host of other social ills, it makes potential investors from outside the community leery about committing resources for development. Concurrently, residents who see little social and economic change in the region often embrace the negative narrative and become cynical about the possibility of change. However, when a community is introduced to a narrative related to new assets or new ways of utilizing old assets, the effect can be a reframing of perceptions of possibility in residents. This can happen in a number of ways, such as uncovering novel historical information about a place, employing a new process for harvesting food staples, or the discovery of some previously unknown alloy. When communities find new ways to relay the value of their sense of place, their social adhesion and civic pride grow.

JIMMY CUNNINGHAM Executive director of the Delta Rhythm & Bayous Alliance

J

immy Cunningham Jr., a native of Pine Bluff and current resident of Nashville, is a grant writer, voiceover artist, author, community program consultant and executive director of the Delta Rhythm & Bayous Alliance. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees, respectively, from the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff and Grambling State University. Over a three-decade span, Cunningham has been involved in programs largely focused on the social and cultural development of inner city youth at both national and state levels. He has also been heavily involved in research regarding African American history in the Arkansas and Mississippi Delta. His latest project involves helping to develop a cultural corridor between Pine Bluff and Clarksdale, Miss., in order to increase cultural heritage tourism.

What is the Delta Rhythm & Bayous Alliance?

The Alliance is a nonprofit organization with a primary goal of developing increased tourism in the Arkansas and Mississippi Delta regions along U.S. Highways 65 and 82.

What inspired you to begin this project?

After writing two books on Pine Bluff and the Southeast Arkansas Delta, I realized that there was a profound wealth of under-appreciated history related to the music, the arts, and the bayous of the region. I had seen other regions in the nation take cultural/geological assets and successfully brand themselves with a powerful narrative that was appealing to tourists. The historically largest cities in the Delta—Pine Bluff and Greenville, Mississippi—both have enormous cultural assets, which are underappreciated and largely unknown outside the region.

Linking these two cities together in a cultural corridor, along with neighboring communities, seemed like the most logical thing to do to maximize their narratives.

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What are some of the biggest challenges for Delta communities and what are the Delta’s greatest assets?

One might think that the biggest challenges in the Delta are related to a myriad of social factors connected to poverty, race, health, education and a limited tax base. However, I think one of the most significant challenges is that many former Delta residents with great ideas and energy have had to move to other parts of the country to make a living.

The absence of a proliferation of new ideas, new approaches, and outof-the-box paradigms has crippled the region’s advancement. However, the Delta is made of people who are tougher than nails. I think they are some of the most resilient people I have ever seen in the nation. They have weathered floods, racial violence, economic uncertainty, health challenges and a variety of other forces that would have left some communities devastated and paralyzed. Nonetheless, they are survivors who never give up.

What are three things you can recommend to a community wanting to cultivate a dynamic music scene?

Music is a reflection of the values and the sensibilities of a community.

To cultivate a dynamic music scene, one must have a keen awareness of residents’ music interests and the connection of those interests to local sensibilities. Further, a dynamic music scene requires defined spaces, which aesthetically fit the nature of the highlighted genres.

Finally, a dynamic music scene is almost always staffed by club owners, bartenders, waiters/waitresses, and other employees who consciously create a sense of community and comradery in the borders of each establishment.

THE DELTA IS MADE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE TOUGHER THAN NAILS.

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VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 49

BROKERING A SENSE OF PLACE What are the most important components a city needs to be competitive for development?

Any city embarking on a comprehensive and inclusive development initiative needs to constantly cultivate and attract open-minded, creative, passionate people. This is the number one ingredient for any successful endeavor, and those people need to have no ego, but have pride in their community and a drive to get the job done regardless of difficulty. It is vital to invite the community to be a part of your projects, so that they take the pride and ownership of the end results.

What advice would you give to a first-time developer?

Ask for help! Slow down and be patient! Have fun, and hit a single before you try to hit a homerun.

What is the role of a dynamic downtown in cultivating community value?

The premium economic value can range from 20 percent to an infinite holistic upside for both the short and long term. Without a dynamic downtown, a community can actually lose economic value. It is important to note that it isn’t just having an economically functioning downtown, but an authentic downtown that speaks to the community identity. This authenticity multiplies the value of place, seeing this “it” factor as a driving contributor to property, business and brand differentiation from other parts of the city, region and state.

PAUL ESTERER Northwest Arkansas President of Newmark Moses Tucker Partners

P

aul Esterer serves as Northwest Arkansas President of Newmark Moses Tucker Partners and is one of Arkansas’s leading commercial brokers in the state, with a combined 28 years of experience in commercial real estate and banking. Esterer uses his background developing urban living, retail, dining and office space to help clients bring to life large-scale economic development efforts.

Also active in local, state and federal legislative and governmental affairs in Arkansas, Esterer is a frequent speaker at economic developer, urban redevelopment and financial conferences across the country. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Southern Methodist University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.

Describe your first development project and what you learned from it.

My first project was the Kramer School Artist Cooperative in Little Rock. I worked on this from 1995-1997, and it changed my perspective on how development can both impact and involve the surrounding community. It was a complicated, historic urban redevelopment project in a downtown just beginning its revitalization. I needed to create a project team, foster relationships with a broad coalition, engage the municipality and market the project to potential tenants, all while respecting the amazing stories of 100+ years housed in the building.

50 | BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING VOLUME 4 | 2018

What are some of the biggest challenges to continued growth in Northwest Arkansas?

Private development is moving faster than the publicly funded infrastructure and is not able to meet the needs of the supply/ demand equation from the consumer, particularly for our downtowns.

Cities feeling this pressure will begin to put more of that burden on private projects, which contributes heavily to driving up prices and challenging the affordability equation. Our second challenge is dreaming big enough and widely enough to not provide bias limits on opportunities and investments. It is necessary to think beyond the current market and start developing to customer demands, not just what we know how to locally develop and fund.

ANY CITY EMBARKING ON A COMPREHENSIVE AND INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE NEEDS TO CONSTANTLY CULTIVATE AND ATTRACT OPENMINDED, CREATIVE, PASSIONATE PEOPLE.

–

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tools of the TRADE Benefits of Historic Tax Credits

BY AMBER JONES, HISTORIC PRESERVATION TAX CREDIT CONSULTANT

I

magine you could get money back on maintaining, improving or rehabbing your home or business. Do you pay federal and state income taxes? If you own or purchase an historic property, it may be eligible for Historic Tax Credits through the National Park Service and the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, which can be used to offset taxes owed, dollar for dollar, to the federal government and the state of Arkansas.

The Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit, otherwise known as the Historic Tax Credit, is one of the most powerful historic preservation tools we have. Recognizing the cost associated with rehabilitating historic buildings, the Historic Tax Credit provides a 20 percent income tax credit to developers of income producing properties such as office buildings, retail establishments, rental apartments and others.

The Arkansas Rehabilitation Tax Credit, modeled after the federal program, was established in 2009 with historic property owners earning 25 percent back on expenditures of approved projects.

Homeowners are capped at $100,000 projects with the maximum tax credit earned at $25,000. Until the last legislative session, business owners were capped at $500,000, with projects earning a maximum $125,000 tax credit. This past year, the cap was raised for income producing properties to $1.6 million, earning a $400,000 Arkansas Tax Credit maximum per project. Private homes are still capped at $100,000 projects.

52 | BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING VOLUME 4 | 2018

Since the state historic preservation tax credit was created in 2009, 406 projects, representing $168,847,432 in private investment, have received a total of $19,977,283 in credits through the state program.

The federal program and the Arkansas program can be “twinned” together, for eligible income-producing projects, earning 45 percent back in Historic Tax Credits—with the state program capping out at the first $1.6 million. Properties in Hot Springs National Park are eligible for 25 percent Federal and 25 percent State, earning 50 percent back in tax credits on the first $1.6 million spent.

Raising the cap on income producing properties is an effort to create more opportunities for significant rehabilitation projects like Hotel Pines in Pine Bluff, the Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs and larger buildings around the state. These types of historic preservation projects generate economic activity and ignite community revitalization. Many owners hope to see the cap removed entirely, like the Federal Tax Credit program, which has no cap. It is expected that this change will increase rehabilitation activity across the state. There are no current plans to remove the state cap.

2016 was a record-setting year for historic tax credit use at the federal level. Activity increased by 32 percent over the last year—the greatest year-over-year increase in the program’s history. A banner year brings the cumulative totals of the credit’s economic impact since 1986 to 42,293 buildings rehabilitated, almost 2.5 million jobs created, and $29.8 billion in federal taxes generated. This last number

(Opposite page) The former Bank of Russellville at 220 W. Main St., now The Old Bank Sports Bar, completed renovations in 2016 using federal and state tax credits. (Below) The Old Bank Sports Bar before undergoing a complete renovation.

To-Do’s for Historic Tax Credit Application 1. Contact Arkansas Historic Preservation Program (AHPP), Tax Credit Coordinator, with the address of your building to see if it is eligible for the tax credit program.

2. Take photos of your project/ building before work starts. Specific “before” photos are required for the Part 1 and Part 2 applications, as well as floor plans and possibly architectural drawings.

2. Turn in your Part 1 and Part 2 applications well before your project starts construction. Plan on thirty days from the date you turn your project applications in to hear back about which aspects of your project are approved, or approved with conditions.

3. After receiving approvals on your Part 1 and Part 2, you may begin work on your project.

4. Save your project receipts.

5. Once your project is completely finished it’s time to do the Part 3 application and claim your Historic Tax Credits. Take “after” photos to turn in with a copy of your project receipts with the Part 3 application.

is particularly significant because it confirms the historic tax credit is a revenue generator for the U.S. Treasury (tax credits issued over this same period total $25.2 billion).

The Historic Tax Credit guarantees every $2 in tax credits leverages $10 in private investment. Recent studies show the actual private expenditure is closer to $12.60 for every $2 in tax credits, and there are 25 percent more jobs created in rehabilitating a historic building than building a highway or repairing a bridge.

Historic Tax Credits remain one of the best incentives for rehabbing historic properties and, as studies show, perhaps the best return on investment for community revitalization.

Since the state historic preservation tax credit was created in 2009, 406 projects, representing $168,847,432 in private investment, have received a total of $19,977,283 in credits through the state program.

VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 53

revitalizing a DELTA TOWN The Pine Bluff Story

BY DWAIN HEBDA, FOUNDER YA!MULE WORDSMITHS

54 | BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING VOLUME 4 | 2018

COURTESY WER ARCHITECTS/PLANNERS

I

t’s 2 p.m. on a muggy Arkansas Tuesday and eerily quiet in Pine Bluff’s old downtown. Most of the buildings in this neighborhood are boarded up and empty, a few remnant artifacts of retail stores, banks and who-knows-what. Here and again, a city parcel sits bleached and bare, its punch-drunk building long lost to weather and time and apathy. The district, like the early summer air, is still.

But the quiet is deceiving, a façade of the initiative and investment that has begun to creep back into this community, the former jewel of the Delta. Pulsing behind the plywood windows and stark brick and concrete is something new, something palpable, something Pine Bluff hasn’t felt in a long time—hope.

“Some people look at this and all they see is the building with the roof falling in here or one that’s derelict over there,” said Stuart Hee from atop The Hotel Pines, one of the largest reclamation ventures in town. “You ask me what I see? I see opportunity.”

Walk around long enough and you’ll discover Hee, who’s part of a business partnership investing in more than one project down here, isn’t alone in this vision. Here and there, bright and colorful store fronts pop against the drab urban landscape like tiger lilies in a beanfield. Each represents a new start for the district and, as all are unflinchingly convinced, the beginnings of a city-wide resurrection.

“It’s great; people are getting acclimated to downtown once again,” said Wil Jenkins, a Texas transplant and co-owner of several properties in the neighborhood. “It’s just going to be a beautiful thing.”

Pine Bluff is a community with as fascinating a history as there is in Arkansas. An offspring of the state’s first settlement, Arkansas Post, The Town of Pine Bluff, as it was officially named by the county court in 1832, was incorporated in 1839.

Post-Reconstruction brought affluence and growth as cotton, lumber, river commerce and railroads fed the furnace of prosperity and created wealth among enterprising black and white entrepreneurs alike. At one time the state’s third largest city, Pine Bluff was lauded as a cosmopolitan destination and has produced more than its share of notables in entertainment, sports, politics, law and various industries.

Like many communities of the Delta, Pine Bluff’s struggles began with the decline of the railroad and cotton industries and these, along with worsening social and quality-of-life issues, began to cost the area in headcount. Between 1970 and 2014, Jefferson County’s population shrank 15 percent, or nearly 13,000 residents, with particularly damaging declines during periods in the 1980s and the 2000s. Pine Bluff, which has lost about 6,000 residents just since the 2010 census, became synonymous with crime and decay.

“It was a double whammy that hit Pine Bluff,” said state Rep. Vivian Flowers. “You had white Pine Bluffians retiring to Hot Springs, so much that they now call Hot Springs ‘Little Pine Bluff.’ You had other people who literally died out; their kids went to college someplace else, maybe Fayetteville, maybe out of state. You got a lot of empty air property.”

Rendering of a renovated Hotel Pines, a $35 million Pine Bluff project led by Catalytic PB LLC.

“Some people look at this and all they see is the building with the roof falling in here or one that’s derelict over there,” said Stuart Hee from atop The Hotel Pines, one of the largest reclamation ventures in town. “You ask me what I see? I see opportunity.”

VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 55

revitalizing a DELTA TOWN

(Above) Rendering of the Pine Bluff Aquatics Center, designed by Crafton Tull, Inc., currently under construction. (Facing page) The aquatic center will be home to an eight-lane competition swimming pool, indoor/outdoor seating, leisure pool, sun deck, party rooms, locker rooms and offices.

“And then you had the second thing which was the influx and impact of drugs. That happened in Washington D.C., that happened in all your big cities, that happened in the Midwest, that happened in the South. Our cities and our towns took a beating and that, of course, affected public safety and the perception of all the other things you look for in a quality of place. Pine Bluff had negative impacts over all those things.”

After years of failed piecemeal solutions, Pine Bluff’s stakeholders launched Go Forward Pine Bluff in 2017, an ambitious initiative for comprehensive community improvement. More than 100 Pine Bluff citizens met monthly throughout 2016 to craft the plan that would address the city’s most dire needs and put Pine Bluff back on the road to prosperity and growth.

The sweeping initiatives, by some estimates, could ultimately run as high as $50 million. Last June, the wider community voiced its support at the polls, approving a seven-year sales tax increase expected to raise $4 million annually to partially fund GFPB’s mandate.

“Go Forward Pine Bluff’s pillars are Quality of Life, Economic Development, Government Infrastructure and Education,” said Ryan Watley, GFPB chief executive officer. “Those pillars reflect the strong bones that Pine Bluff has long depended upon to be a thriving community. GFPB continues to identify innovative strategies to challenges that not only have impacted Pine Bluff, but cities of similar size and stature.”

Within those four pillars are 27 initiatives to be addressed by the time the sales tax increase sunsets, among which are generating investment and fostering new businesses. It’s an effort that draws from a variety of community partners.

“The current pillars of Go Forward Pine Bluff are opportunistic to businesses looking to establish roots,” Watley said. “Based on these opportunities and the ability of our Jefferson County Alliance to incentivize potential companies, Pine Bluff has an international market. In addition, Go Forward Pine Bluff is focused on inspiring innovation and entrepreneurship that lead to subsequent small businesses in the downtown footprint.”

According to Lori Walker, assistant director for the City of Pine Bluff Economic and Community Development, statistical trends suggest conditions are in GFPB’s favor, including a plateau in the latest decline in population since a 2005 uptick.

“As part of our economic development agenda, we have a focus around quality of place,” she said. “We’re looking at trying to have a variety of housing options and a variety of amenities that appeal to different market groups. All of those fit with our overarching research theory around the National Association of Homebuilders talking about the neighborhood amenities that positively affect home prices and the lack of amenities that negatively affect home prices.”

At present, progress is subtle. In addition to the smattering of new stores downtown, improvements have been made around Lake continued on page 60

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VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 57

revitalizing a DELTA TOWN

Renderings of the exterior and interior of the planned Pine Bluff Main Library designed by Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects in association with Reed Architectural Firm.

WHAT THE LOCALS SAY “I was on the Go Forward Pine Bluff Education Pillar committee. Something that we kept saying was, guys, the other three pillars are not going to matter, if we don’t get education right in order to have a workforce that’s well-prepared and to increase quality of place. I mean, we have students who are involved in violent crime and a lot of that is due to the struggles they are facing and systemic property inequities. I think education is the answer to solving those issues and we have to provide those services to meet the needs of kids and get them to the next level.”

“When you get individuals invested and skin in the game, so to speak, they’re much more likely to help your initiatives be executed. Our chamber of commerce supports a Candidate Development Institute which stresses the importance of cultivating the correct leaders in place and we have our leadership programs that help cultivate current leaders. We also have our Junior Leadership Program, which is made up of 10th graders kind of dipping their toe in the leadership pond, so to speak. We’re trying to cultivate this next generation of leaders to feel passionate about the community.”

—Adrian Dhanaraj Teacher, Pine Bluff School District / Founder, What’s Next Pine Bluff

—Nancy McNew Director, Pine Bluff Regional Chamber of Commerce

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“I believe in Go Forward Pine Bluff. I’ve seen a few programs come and go but I have not seen a program that reaches the scale that Go Forward Pine Bluff has. As with any program it has its challenges, but I feel comfortable enough with the leadership to say, ‘OK, these guys will be able to meet those challenges.’ At this point in Pine Bluff, what choice do we have? Either we continue to sit back and bicker amongst each other or we can figure out how to move forward. Go Forward Pine Bluff has figured out how to bring people together.”

—Nate Baker Pine Bluff native

AWARDED THE “INNOVATIVE DESIGN” AWARD BY THE ARKANSAS CHAPTER OF USGBC.

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2017 BY THE NUMBERS: 166,513

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16.4 MILLION ECONOMIC IMPACT OF BROADWAY SERIES

THE ARKANSAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA EXPERIENCED A

15% INCREASE IN TOTAL TICKET SALES

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“Now, this place was a terrible mess; it was a lot of work and, well, I wouldn’t say tears, I’d say it was a challenge. But it has its own character, its own feeling. A building will tell you what it wants to be.”

Saracen including a pavilion, walking bridge and trails. New street lighting and building codes portend more attractive infill development while planned streetscape improvements will breathe new life into historic areas. In addition to the businesses downtown, a mini plaza is nearing completion next to the University of Pine Bluff Business Support Incubator, right across the street from the vacant lot where a brand-new city library is planned.

Walker, like all those working directly on community initiatives, chomps at the bit to capitalize on these positives.

“The growth side is what we’re always looking forward to, but the key thing about communities nowadays is, while employment is important, at the same time it’s about being a community where people want to live. That is how communities win the day,” she said.

“Do I get impatient with the process?” Walker breaks into a wide smile. “Yeah, absolutely.”

Back downtown, Maryann Lee glances out the window of Indigo Blue, her coffee shop and bookstore. She grew up here but has spent the majority of her life in Detroit, so she knows something about community decay and revival. There’s no question in her mind which end of that equation she finds herself on today.

“I see possibilities, that’s what I see,” she said. “Now, this place was a terrible mess; it was a lot of work and, well, I wouldn’t say tears, I’d say it was a challenge. But it has its own character, its own feeling. A building will tell you what it wants to be.”

“I like the downtown area. A lot of folks bypass the city, they’re missing a lot. They saw rubble. I saw a bookstore and coffee shop.”

Stronger Community: Realized The education of our children. The vibrancy of our economy. The integrity of our infrastructure. The quality of life led by our friends and neighbors. As a business founded in Pine Bluff, and as a proud member of the community for more than a century, we embrace the mission to realize an even brighter, stronger, opportunity-filled Pine Bluff.

You can count on Simmons Bank to help make the dreams of Pine Bluff residents come true.

Today, and for the next 100 years.

VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 61

A DELTA LEADER

also valuable in the planning process. Mayors must avoid the temptation of top-down management. It is important to implement programs and activities in ways that engage community members directly in the work of social, cultural and economic change. Mayors must put forth an all-out attempt to stay connected to the community.

What impact will initiatives like Go Forward Pine Bluff and the current downtown master planning effort being conducted by the University of Arkansas’ Community Design Center have on the future of Pine Bluff?

Go Forward Pine Bluff and the downtown master planning effort have placed an intensive planning focus on our city. The Go Forward Initiative brought forth more than 100 individuals from all walks of life to collaborate on a vision for the future of Pine Bluff. Through positive and creative community brainstorming and professional consultation and design activity I think many goals will be accomplished to move our city toward a bright future.

SHIRLEY WASHINGTON Mayor, Pine Bluff

P

ine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington earned a master’s degree from the University Of Arkansas - Fayetteville. After 38 years of service as a teacher and working in administration in the public schools of Jefferson County, she retired and became heavily involved in her community, serving as president of the Pine Bluff Education Association, a member of the Southeast Arkansas Arts and Science Center Board of Directors, the Pine Bluff Beautification Facilities Board, the Jefferson County Board of Governors, and a life member of the NAACP where she serves on the Education Committee of the Pine Bluff Branch. In October 2015, Washington entered the political arena, launching an effective campaign for Mayor of Pine Bluff. On Jan. 1, 2017, she became the first African American woman to hold the highest office in the city of Pine Bluff.

What makes a community most attractive to investment and what role should the City play in attracting that investment?

Investors are attracted to areas in which their investment dollars will go far and their businesses will be supported by the local economy. In order for this to happen, keeping and attracting people are the most important strategies in our economic landscape. We must recognize that in the past a vital local economy was based on attracting large companies by offering inexpensive locations and a cheap labor force. The qualities of a particular place mattered little, and people migrated to where the jobs were. That’s all changed, and now communities are lively destinations that are easily reached. Quality of life is the key economic driver.

Pride in the city is part of quality of life. When people feel good about their city, they feel good about themselves. They are likely to recommend the city to others, and others will sense the enthusiasm and want to be a part of the city. This applies to business investors and citizens as well.

How can a mayor ensure community voices are heard in the planning process?

A mayor must put forth every effort to stay present and accessible to their constituents in order to ensure that their voices are heard. We must also continue to promote transparency with our citizens by having information sessions and through the use of social media, including the city’s website.

Regular town hall meetings where citizens have the opportunity to ask questions, make suggestions, and share their ideas and experiences are 62 | BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING VOLUME 4 | 2018

The City has just released the RFQ for a comprehensive city plan. Why is developing big-picture plans like this important?

A municipality, such as ours cannot know where it is going and what it is developing into unless it has a clear vision. Therefore, it is very important for us to have professional, experienced guidance as we develop a policy document that considers land use, community character, economic development, infill and redevelopment, transportation, recreation and open space and sustainability over the next twenty years.

This master plan will provide a unified vision forward for the city which residents and the city can utilize as they move forward in the redevelopment of Pine Bluff. If we are going to make our city better, it will start with the development of this strategic plan. Once the plan is developed, it must be implemented and not left to gather dust on a shelf in the city clerk’s office.

What has been some of the most challenging elements of being a mayor? How have you addressed some of those challenges?

Time has been a significant challenge during my term as mayor. The needs and demands of the city are great and require a great deal of time to assess, plan and execute viable solutions. Our current condition is the result of a slow decline. We are working fervently to halt the decline so that we may begin reinforcing and ultimately improving its status.

I have found that a city is a complex organism with interdependent parts. Each part requires a unique focus, but the multiple efforts must be viewed as a collective enterprise. Shortly after taking office in 2017, I realized that I had to set priorities, so I adopted five areas of concentration: improving public safety, promoting economic development, supporting public schools, building strong neighborhoods and improving government operations.

These five goals are interconnected and must fit together like puzzle pieces if the city is to reach its potential.

Being mayor is complicated and often headache-inducing, but it is also incredibly rewarding. While perusing an agenda, there are daily tasks to be accomplished and unforeseen challenges that spring up. I see the mayor’s job as having three distinct parts: (1) running the business of the city; (2) dealing with the crises that present themselves; and (3) advancing a vision for the future of the city.

PRIDE IN THE CITY IS PART OF QUALITY OF LIFE. WHEN PEOPLE FEEL GOOD ABOUT THEIR CITY, THEY FEEL GOOD ABOUT THEMSELVES.

BELLA VISTA It’s not heaven, but you can see it from here.

lotsinbellavista.com Contact David Thornton at 1-844-BVVLOTS (288-5687)

WELCOME TO PROGRESS. Community leaders strive for progress. They cast vision.

Create opportunities. And make improvements that make better happen.

What’s your better? Get there with us.

Member FDIC VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 63

edible culture of ARKANSAS

PHOTO BY MEREDITH MASHBURN

How great food can shape a place BY CASE DIGHERO

(Kneeling from left) Rafael Rios, owner and Chef at Yeyo’s, and Matt Cooper, chef at Preacher’s Son, cooking together at the Rios Family Farm.

T

he narrative of place is designed, devised by a myriad of descriptors that reveal authentic insights into not only its inhabitants, but also the day to day practices, happenings and rituals that ultimately reveal that story. Edible culture exposes truth about people, space and time because it echoes not just sustenance paradigms, but also artisanship and community in its purest form. In my own hometown, there was a recent social media thread that lead a dozen or so of my classmates down a delicious, nostalgic rabbit hole regarding a certain hamburger dairy joint that has been closed for almost 40 years; and all of us contributing to that digital reminiscence had personal, heartfelt stories about our childhood in that place, during that time, with those people. It’s precisely those surprising, arbitrary recollections that force us to not only reflect, but to also consider, contemplate what’s happening today, and to understand the importance of the memories that are being made now by the next generation.

The Natural State is chock-full of great stories that revolve around food history, but perhaps most exciting is the cultural springboard it serves for up-and-coming communities, chefs, cooks, restaurateurs and consumers. Nostalgia is important, but properly using that history to evolve a place in order to better serve the people is nothing short of critical.

It’s a ritual for families all over the state to stop in Lake Village en route to vacations in Louisiana and Florida for Rhoda’s Famous 64 | BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING VOLUME 4 | 2018

Hot Tamales (714 Saint Mary St.), a small shack with hand-painted signs, a rickety entrance, and some of the best travel grub on the planet. Iconic owner Rhoda Adams has been tying up small bundles of delta tamales for over 30 years, but it’s her flat-top burgers and homemade pies that make Rhoda’s Famous a triple threat for hungry travelers and locals alike. Adams maintains her real gift is making pies, and although her half-and-half offerings of coconut with pecan, chocolate or sweet potato (my favorite), it’s the dozen delta tamales served in a metal coffee can that have earned Rhoda a spot in the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame.

On the opposite side of the state from Lake Village is the shinier, newer Bentonville, donning a badge of contemporary cuisine steeped in southern history. One of the most authentic, exciting food stories of this region comes from the Rios family, who have a successful family farm in Rogers, (Bentonville’s blue collar, grittier younger brother—but that’s a whole other story) that serves patrons at the farmers market, a thriving food truck off of the Bentonville square, and a brand new brick-and-mortar location of Ye-Yo’s Mexican Grill (801 SE 8th St.), located at the 8th Street Market cultural hub.

Rafael Rios, a second generation military veteran and savvy businessman, has carved out an important name for himself and his family as an important part of the community. The garden is gorgeous, run primarily by Rios’ father, but almost every member of the family has a hand in the business, whether it be at the farm,

The Natural State is chock full of great stories that revolve around food history, but perhaps most exciting is the cultural springboard it serves for up-andcoming communities, chefs, cooks, restaurateurs and consumers.

at the food truck, or somewhere at the 8th Street Market location— a prime example of nouveau memories being designed for today’s edible culture.

The Mexican-American population has also played an integral part in the cultural evolution of Springdale; initially attracted to the area in previous decades by big chicken factory work, the hardworking community has assimilated beautifully into every part of the city, including civically and culturally. Team Springdale founder, Amber Perrodin, saw an opportunity to crosspollinate community sectors through creating and promoting the Springdale Taco tour, a social media vehicle for introducing the non-Latin population to the delicious, authentic taquerias peppered throughout the city. Tacos are quickly becoming a favorite food for the region, state and country for good reason; they are boasting a quick, cheap, authentic experience that is attractive to a wide socioeconomic swath of the population.

Texas and Louisiana are famous for housing incredible gas station cuisine, and Arkansas is no exception, offering a slew of roadside filling station eateries that crisscross just about every major thoroughfare, including Kountry Xpress (1107 Georgia Ridge Dr.) located in Mulberry just off of I-40 at exit 20. Sure, Indian fare is common in more diverse cities like Fayetteville and Little Rock, but there is something altogether astonishing considering a Mulberry convenient store as one of the prime destinations for authentic food that doesn’t focus on catfish, barbeque or fried chicken. But Kountry Xpress is a delicious, unexpected culinary outlier for all traveling to get lost on or off the eaten path of Arkansas.

Fort Smith is a complex city with diverse inhabitants that include a thriving Vietnamese population who sought refuge at Fort Chafee after the fall of Saigon in 1975. Subsequently, the Vietnamese, Muong refugees throughout the region found a permanent place for themselves via strong work ethics in several trades that include farming and restaurant work. Fort Smith is now home to several Pho restaurants, including Pho Hoang (2111 Grand Ave.) which offers exceptional, made-to-order, dine-in or take-out food that is as authentic as the people preparing it. Who would have ever thought that an Arkansas city famous for a “hanging judge” would ultimately become a safe, welcoming sanctuary for Vietnamese refugees making the best pho in the country?

Finally, multi-generational fans still flock to the Venetian Inn (582 W. Henri de Tonti Blvd.) restaurant located in the Italian-American community of Tontitown; dining here is a dutiful experience that includes weepy, over-dressed green salad, ultra-sweet Post table wine, and the iconic fried chicken and spaghetti combination plate that might seem a bit pedestrian for some of today’s more discriminating diners. Still, one can’t help but contemplate how the Venetian Inn’s early attempt to force an unholy amalgamation between traditional southern fare and Italian pasta was undoubtedly met with trepidation and whispers of edible heresy so many generations before. And isn’t the Natural State lucky to be the benefactor of just such cultural, edible dissent? Please, don’t answer with your mouth full…

VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 65

ENGINEERING PLACE

JENNIFER KEITH PE, LEED AP, Electrical Engineer at CS^2 Engineering, Inc.

J

ennifer Keith has more than 19 years of experience in electrical engineering design, with extensive experience in new construction, renovations and additions. She is particularly focused on providing clients with an excellent lighting and lighting control design as part of an integrated building electrical distribution system.

Her projects have ranged from repeat-site-adapt retail and restaurant work to more complex multi-disciplinary collaborative designs. Keith has developed a strong interest in development and planning, particularly regarding adaptive reuse and downtown redevelopment. Effective lighting is key in enhancing efforts to improve walkability, which is crucial in improving the communities in which we live.

With women making up only an estimated 14 percent of all engineers, what attracted you to your field?

My mom was an artist, and my dad is a retired professor of Biomedical Engineering; so I had a good chance of going either direction and started along both paths. After changing my major a few times, I decided I wanted to become an engineer to help support my art career. I’m still working on that art career.

What are some of the hurdles and solutions to positively changing that percentage?

It’s getting better, but changing the perception of engineers for girls and young women helps. Educating the educators, as it were. I actually had a teacher in middle school comment to my parents on my high math scores on the standardized tests that the scores were “pretty good, for a girl and all.” Things have really come along from there, but I do think there are some inherent assumptions that boys are better at math. Finding ways to make engineering “cool” for all kids would help, in addition to how we teach the kids. Schools such as the Springdale Don Tyson School of Innovation are a great step in that direction. Not only does it provide a different model for learning for the kids, the school provides a lot of resources and opportunities for those kids. Primary public charters such as Ozark Montessori Academy and Arkansas Arts Academy also provide alternative learning environments for kids who struggle in traditional settings. So often, kids are “lost” at a young age. Finding ways to continue to stoke the fire of love of learning that the youngest kids have is our best bet long-term. Ideally, it would be great to see some of the great concepts that work at alternative schools integrated into the traditional schools.

66 | BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING VOLUME 4 | 2018

From an engineering perspective, what are the top priorities to be considered in a new urbanist community?

Sustainability is a big part of new urbanism. The idea of creating walkable and accessible spaces and the repurposing of existing spaces is inherently sustainable in many ways. But we need to take that a step further and ensue that we build out those spaces in a sustainable way. LEDs have taken the lighting world by storm, but there are still concerns. Where they save energy, we also need to ensure the spaces we light are done in a thoughtful way to keep them functional and welcoming. Specifying highefficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment will help with keeping the operating costs down.

What are the benefits of investing in those top priorities and why isn’t it done more often?

The greatest benefit of investing in more sustainable construction options is long-term maintenance and well-being for the building occupant.

The goal of small developers, as I have come to understand, is that we are investing in the community where we live and work. It is in our best interest to include features that will save energy and keep down the longterm costs. The downside of course is that typically these are the higher first-cost options. They are often “value-engineered” because of limited investment capital. But, as these items become more mainstream—for example, LED lighting—the costs become more affordable.

What private development projects or municipalities are getting it right when it comes to investment in their urban infrastructure?

Living and working in Northwest Arkansas makes me the most aware of what is happening in the communities in that area. The catalyst of creating and implementing the Razorback Greenway has been an incredible start. I see most of the municipalities now working toward connecting the rest of their communities with that resource. So, in that regard, I would say most communities around here are making an effort to contribute. As for private investment, there are so many great resources, including the Walton Family Foundation, Tyson and many others. As a resident and entrepreneur living in Springdale, I am really excited to see all the good stuff that is coming out of the Jones Center and the Jones Trust organizations. They are regularly hosting low- or no-cost community-building events that benefit all of us. They have created a model to help so many other nonprofits in the area. The extended reach of that work has influenced so many lives.

THE IDEA OF CREATING WALKABLE AND ACCESSIBLE SPACES AND THE REPURPOSING OF EXISTING SPACES IS INHERENTLY SUSTAINABLE IN MANY WAYS. BUT WE NEED TO TAKE THAT A STEP FURTHER AND ENSURE THAT WE BUILD OUT THOSE SPACES IN A SUSTAINABLE WAY.

In Arkansas, cities and towns have it all!

Proudly serving the cities and towns of the Natural State.

“Great Cities Make A Great State” www.arml.org #GreatCitiesGreatState

VOLUME 4 | 2018 BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING | 67

MAIN STREET LOFTS

THE CLAYTON

1 and 2 bedroom units, fitness center, gated parking, secure building, free wifi, near the Arkansas Arts Center and South Main in Downtown Little Rock. Contact Rachael Scott at rscott@newmarkmtp.com.

MAIN STREET WAREHOUSE

1 and 2 bedroom units, historic hard wood floor, large windows, secure building, underground parking. Lofts are above an Art Gallery. Commercial space is available for lease as well on the first floor. Located on Main Street in Downtown Little Rock. Contact Rachael Scott at rscott@newmarkmtp.com for apartment leasing and John Martin at jmartin@newmarkmtp.com or Matt Beachboard at mbeachboard@newmarkmtp.com for commercial leasing.

New development of historic warehouse in downtown Bentonville. Estimated completion May 2019. Prime office space one block off new 5 lane 8th Street corridor and across from Thaden School. Located near the current and future Walmart Home Office campus. Contact Paul Esterer at pesterer@ newmarkmtp.com and Jeff Snyder at jsnyder@newmarkmtp.com

112 W. CENTER STREET

Class A Office Redevelopment in Downtown Fayetteville. 7 stories, 58,000 SF office space overlooking the Fayetteville Square. Open Floor plans available, Retail/Commercial/Restaurant space available.

Contact Zack Kifer at zkifer@newmarkmtp.com.

200 River Market Avenue, Suite 501 • Little Rock, AR 72201 • 501-376-6555 www.newmarkmtp.com • Fayetteville: 479-582-0000 • Bentonville: 479-271-6118