Historic sections of El Dorado see project advance
Work on surveys of potential register sites nearly complete
EL DORADO — Contractors hired by the El Dorado Historic District Commission and the city of El Dorado are wrapping up their field work on three local neighborhoods.
Determination of Eligibility/Cultural Resources surveys for Country Club Colony, Retta Brown and Mellor Park, Forest Lawn/Eastridge and a small section of the McKinney subdivision, including some un-platted properties, will help determine if the neighborhoods will be eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, either as districts or with individually listed properties.
The projects are part of an overall effort to carry out a citywide historic preservation plan that was drafted in 2020.
The neighborhoods and surveys were recommended as priority projects in the plan that, along with the surveys, are funded by an approximate total of $100,000 in Certified Local Government grants that were awarded to the city by the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program.
To assist with the drafting of the plan, the city of El Dorado kicked in an additional $10,000 from the El Dorado Works tax, the 1% city sales tax initiative that is used for economic development, municipal infrastructure and quality-of-life projects.
On Thursday, Elizabeth Eggleston, executive director of the historic district commission, reported that field work has been completed for the surveys.
In early 2021, Terracon Consultant Services, Inc. — which is headquartered in Kansas — began a Determination of Eligibility survey of 326 properties in the Mellor Park area, the Forest Lawn/Eastridge subdivision and a small section of the McKinney subdivision, including some un-platted properties.
A team from Terracon’s offices in Austin, Texas, is working on the project.
Eggleston said Thursday that Terracon has completed field work and is compiling site plans, Arkansas Architectural Resources forms and photographs to send to the El Dorado Historic District Commission and Arkansas Historic Preservation Program for review.
She said the Austin, Texas-based Cox|McLain-Stantec Inc. has reached a similar phase in its surveys of the Country Club Colony and Retta Brown neighborhoods.
Architectural historians from Cox|McLain-Stantec conducted site visits in January, surveying a total of 110 properties, and completed field work well before month’s end.
Eggleston said Thursday that like Terracon, Cox|McLain-Stantec has put together photographs and site plans — all of which include information about architectural style, exterior materials and any alterations.
She also said Cox|McLain-Stantec is also completing the first 10 architectural resources forms, which are due by Tuesday.
“So, they are right on schedule with their work,” Eggleston said, adding that all documentation from the survey is due to the historic district commission and the state’s historic preservation program by the end of April.
If the surveys receive the stamp of approval from those two entities, nomination forms will be submitted to the State Review Board for consideration to the national and state registers of historic places.
If the properties are eligible for placement on the National Register, the State Review Board will then forward a recommendation to the National Park Service, the federal agency that administers the National Register.