Preservation panel shares ideas for local restoration and engagement

Full plan will be online next week

As more details are released from a proposed, citywide historic preservation plan, members of the El Dorado Historic District Commission agreed they have a lot of work to do to implement recommendations and action items in the plan.

On June 11, a team from The Lakota Group, an Illinois-based urban design firm that is developing the project, presented an overview of the latest draft of the plan and walked commissioners through some of the highlights.

Lakota began working on the plan in early 2019 and was charged with crafting a comprehensive plan that identifies and prioritizes historic preservation issues and projects in El Dorado. The firm is expected to submit a final draft by July 15.

At this stage of the planning process, Lakota formally presented a working document to the EHDC.

Following the hour-plus presentation, during which Lakota answered questions from EHDC members, Commissioner Diane Murfee told the urban design team that they have done a “wonderful job” thus far.

“It’s very good. The only frustrating part about it is all the wonderful things we need to be doing right this minute and getting started,” Murfee said.

Commissioner Sara Coffman agreed, adding, “I’m excited about it too. I think it will be a lot of fun and I think if we involve some of the homeowners and some of the people that are longtime people here in El Dorado … I think they would have a really good time touting their neighbor

hoods and saying, ‘Yes, this is where grandma lived,” and things like that because I think it is very important to people.”

The Lakota team — Doug Kaare, Nick Kalogerisis and Siraj Asfahani — were equally complimentary of the the EHDC, the city of El Dorado and other local groups, including Main Street El Dorado and the South Arkansas Historical Preservation Society, for the groundwork that has already been laid to preserve the city’s history and heritage.

“You’ve done quite a lot there in your community. I think of the many communities I’ve worked in over the years and it was really impressive to see the amount of preservation activity and to see things like the Murphy Arts District come about and to see the success of your Main Street program and the success of your district and designation activity,” Kalogerisis said.

“So, (there are) a lot of good things in El Dorado and I’m very impressed with your program and the things you’ve been able to accomplish so far,” he continued.

The Lakota team stressed the need for community education and engagement to implement recommendations in the plan once it has been completed.

Kalogerisis noted that a community workshop was held last November to solicit public feedback.

He said Lakota was scheduled to return to El Dorado this spring for a second public workshop to go over the second draft of the plan but those plans were derailed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Now, the workshop will be conducted online.

Between June 22 and July 3, local residents will be able to view the plan, share their input and ideas and ask questions by visiting eldoradohistoricpreservationplan.com.

During the EHDC virtual meeting June 11, the Lakota team discussed the goals of the plan, recommended action items and ideas to execute the plan and the next steps of the project.

Karre kicked of the presentation by laying out some key milestones in local historic preservation efforts, starting with the listing of the John Newton House on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Other milestones included the creation of the EHDC in 1984 and the revival of the group in the early aughts; the formation of Main Street El Dorado in 1988; the listing of the El Dorado Commercial Historic District on the NRHP in 2003; the creation of El Dorado Festivals and Events, Inc., in 2011 and the group’s efforts to develop MAD, which opened in 2017

Also in 2017, the Henley-Riley Residential Historic District in the 2500 block of Calion Road was added to the National Register, joining the Murphy-Hill and Mahony residential districts, both of which are located north of the commercial historic, which covers most of Downtown El Dorado.

Asfahni told commissioners that Lakota customized an community engagement plan that best suits the needs of the city.

In addition to the public workshop last fall, the team conducted focus group discussions and interviews with stakeholders — including Mayor Veronica Smith-Creer, the El Dorado City Council, Main Street El Dorado, the EDHC and local residential and commercial property owners.

Asfahani said the talks centered on preservation-related topics, such economic development, education initiatives and incentive programs.

Kalogerisis pointed to four goal statements in the plan that included recognizing historic resources, revitalizing El Dorado, engaging the community and managing the preservation program.

The goals are buttressed by a total of 37 action items.

For instance, in identifying historic resources, Lakota recommends that the city survey and inventory mid-20th century residential neighborhoods, African American neighborhoods and municipal and educational facilities.

Kaare pointed to some tools that can be used to help accomplish the goals, including using Internet-based technologies and software for survey initiatives and incorporating oral histories.

To help revitalize El Dorado, Lakota recommended several action items:

• Establish incentives for housing repair and rehabilitation.

• Create a community housing development organization.

• Create a historic homeowners handbook.

• Create quality neighborhoods marketing initiative.

• Organize “Rehabarama” events, which involve the participation of volunteers — architects, contractors and realtors — in home rehab and preservation projects. Volunteers pick houses to rehab and the community is invited to tour the finished projects — which also helps to generate a pool of potential buyers of the properties, Kalogerisis explained.

He said a case study with the Universal Housing Development Corporation in Russellville is included in the proposed preservation plan for El Dorado.

“Which is an organization that receives a variety of funding, specially home-partnership funding, which is provided by the state of Arkansas to provide low-interest loans and grants to property owners to make repairs, as well as home-owner counseling, so it’s a nice model,” Kalogerisis said.

He referred to El Dorado Habitat for Humanity, explaining that while both groups’ aim is revitalization, the UHDC focuses on funding for housing rehab, while Habitat develops new-home construction projects.

Historic district Commissioner Ken Bridges noted that the city previously had a housing authority that completed the construction of five houses before the program fizzled in the 00s due to a lack of funding.

Asfahani stressed the importance of offering preservation training to local realtors, developers and bankers — groups who are chief intermediaries in such projects and who should be aware of the city’s historic preservation resources and incentives.

Engaging the younger generation is also key in implementing a successful and sustainable preservation program, Asfahani emphasized.

He said the EHDC should involve local schools, South Arkansas Community College and youth groups in the development of the master plan — an idea the commission has previously discussed.

Lakota also recommended forming an advocacy committee in partnership with other preservation groups and creating education tool kits, brochures and other promotional materials to keep the public informed about local preservation efforts.