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 Governor Mike Beebe, Department of Arkansas Heritage Director Cathie Matthews and Arkansas Historic Preservation Program Director Frances McSwain present to Rector Mayor Ron Kemp a $39,076 Historic Preservation Restoration Grant for restoration of the ca. 1915 Rector Waterworks Building on South Main Street (Highway 90). [Click to enlarge] |
Mayor Ron Kemp was on hand last week in Little Rock to receive a $39,076 Historic Preservation Restoration Grant for restoration of the Rector Waterworks Building, built in about 1915.
An agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program awarded $1,287,097 in grants for projects in 38 Arkansas counties through its County Courthouse Restoration Subgrant, Historic Preservation Restoration Grant, Certified Local Government Subgrant, Main Street Downtown Revitalization Grant and Main Street "Slipcover" Removal Grant programs.
Seventeen projects shared $493,800 in Historic Preservation Restoration Grants, which distribute funds raised through the Real Estate Transfer Tax to rehabilitate buildings listed on the Arkansas or National Registers of Historic Places and owned by local governments or not-for-profit organizations. Grant requests totaled $1,700,329.
Other HPRG recipients, the amount of their grants, and the properties to be restored, are: Alpha Phi Alpha, $16,266, foundation restoration and condition assessment for the Bush-Dubisson House in Little Rock; Arkadelphia Public Schools, $10,000, water mitigation at Peake High School; City of Big Flat, $41,760, floor joist restoration and water mitigation at Big Flat Gym; City of Holly Grove, $15,000, restoration of Holly Grove Depot; City of Little Rock, $26,000, restoration of Over-The-Jumps Carousel; City of Norfork, $13,333, roof restoration at Horace Mann Home Economics Building; City of Paris, $14,500, roof and log restoration at American Legion Post No. 121 Legion Hut; Cross County, $12,903, restoration work at South Elementary School; Dana's House, Inc., $81,827, roof and window restoration at First United Methodist Church in DeWitt; Eureka Springs Historical Museum, $22,733, restoration of Calif Building; Fellowship Bible Church, $18,656, rear façade restoration at Landers Theater in Batesville; Forrest City United Methodist Church, $73,474, roof restoration at First United Methodist Church in Forrest City; Helena United Methodist Church, $31,299, window restoration and preservation plan for Helena United Methodist Church in Helena-West Helena; Mount Moriah Lodge #18, $12,300, restoration work at Mount Moriah Masonic Lodge in Lisbon; Mount Zion Baptist Church, $13,673, restoration work at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Brinkley, and Selma United Methodist Church, $51,000, roof and structural restoration at Selma United Methodist Church at Selma.
Thirteen counties shared $603,600 million in County Courthouse Restoration Subgrants, which are financed through Real Estate Transfer Tax funds distributed by the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council for rehabilitation of historic county courthouses across Arkansas. Funding requests totaled $5,344,311.
Counties receiving courthouse grants were: Carroll, $82,384; Clark, $20,000; Cleburne, $124,500; Howard, $68,500; Little River, $10,000; Logan, $50,000; Mississippi, $57,456; Poinsett, $26,127; Prairie, $10,670; Saline, $32,438; Scott, $36,250; Searcy, $29,500, and Woodruff, $55,775.
Seventeen projects shared $493,800 in Historic Preservation Restoration Grants, which distribute funds raised through the Real Estate Transfer Tax to rehabilitate buildings listed on the Arkansas or National Registers of Historic Places and owned by local governments or not-for-profit organizations. Grant requests totaled $1,700,329.
Other HPRG recipients, the amount of their grants, and the properties to be restored, are Alpha Phi Alpha, $16,266, foundation restoration and condition assessment for the Bush-Dubisson House in Little Rock; Arkadelphia Public Schools, $10,000, water mitigation at Peake High School; City of Big Flat, $41,760, floor joist restoration and water mitigation at Big Flat Gym; City of Holly Grove, $15,000, restoration of Holly Grove Depot; City of Little Rock, $26,000, restoration of Over-The-Jumps Carousel; City of Norfork, $13,333, roof restoration at Horace Mann Home Economics Building; City of Paris, $14,500, roof and log restoration at American Legion Post No. 121 Legion Hut; City of Rector, $39,076, restoration of Rector Waterworks Building; Cross County, $12,903, restoration work at South Elementary School; Dana's House, Inc., $81,827, roof and window restoration at First United Methodist Church in DeWitt; Eureka Springs Historical Museum, $22,733, restoration of Calif Building; Fellowship Bible Church, $18,656, rear façade restoration at Landers Theater in Batesville; Forrest City United Methodist Church, $73,474, roof restoration at First United Methodist Church in Forrest City; Helena United Methodist Church, $31,299, window restoration and preservation plan for Helena United Methodist Church in Helena-West Helena; Mount Moriah Lodge #18, $12,300, restoration work at Mount Moriah Masonic Lodge in Lisbon; Mount Zion Baptist Church, $13,673, restoration work at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Brinkley, and Selma United Methodist Church, $51,000, roof and structural restoration at Selma United Methodist Church at Selma.
Thirteen recipients shared $74,000 in grants through the AHPP's Certified Local Government program, which is open to Arkansas cities and counties that contain a historic district commission and a historic district protected by a local ordinance, as well as to cities and counties that are seeking to join the CLG program. These grants provide training opportunities to local historic district commissions and can fund other local preservation projects. At least 10 percent of the AHPP's annual appropriation from the federal Historic Preservation Fund goes to CLG cities as grants for local projects. Grant requests totaled $211,320.
CLG grant recipients were Benton, which received $1,000 for training; El Dorado, which received $7,000 for training and administrative support; Eureka Springs, which received $9,000 for training and development of a welcome center for the Eureka Underground historic walking trail; Fayetteville, which received $5,500 for training and publication of education materials; Fort Smith, which received $3,900 for training and signage for the Belle Grove Historic District; Helena-West Helena, which received $7,600 for training and administrative support; Hot Springs, which received $5,000 for training; Little Rock, which received $2,700 for training; Morrilton, which received $4,300 for training and administrative support; North Little Rock, which received $5,000 for training and administrative support; Rogers, which received $11,000 for training, administrative support and signage for the Rogers Commercial Historic District; Texarkana, which received $7,000 for training and signage for the Original City, Quality Hill and Beech Street historic districts, and Van Buren, which received $5,000 for training.
There currently are 16 Arkansas cities in the CLG program: Little Rock, North Little Rock, Fort Smith, Van Buren, Hot Springs, Eureka Springs, Helena-West Helena, Conway, Pine Bluff, Morrilton, Texarkana, Rogers, El Dorado, Fayetteville, Osceola and Blytheville.
Fourteen Main Street programs shared $85,000 in Downtown Revitalization Grants, which are funded through the state Real Estate Transfer Tax and are available to certified Main Street programs for building rehabilitations, parks, streetscape improvements and other design-related projects that will have major long-term impacts in the local Main Street area. Requests totaled $218,372.
Recipients were Main Street Batesville, $5,000 for a mini-grant program; Main Street Blytheville, $5,000 for a branding campaign; Main Street Dumas, $2,000 for trash receptacles; Main Street El Dorado, $5,000 for a sidewalk art project; Main Street Hardy, $8,000 for events fees and a mini-grant program; Main Street Helena, $5,000 for a mini-grant program; Main Street Ozark, $5,000 for a branding project; Main Street Paragould, $5,000 for a mini-grant program; Main Street Rogers, $5,000 for a mini-grant program; Main Street Russellville, $5,000 for a branding campaign; Main Street Searcy, $5,000 for a mini-grant program; Main Street Texarkana, $5,000 for a mini-grant program; Main Street West Memphis, $20,000 for a façade master plan program, and Little Rock's South Main Street Project, $5,000 for a mini-grant program.
Two Main Street cities shared $30,697 in "Slipcover" Removal Grants, which help finance removal of false façades from historic Main Street Arkansas buildings. The grants are available to certified local Main Street Arkansas programs to assist in returning downtown buildings to their historic appearance. Requests for the grants, which are funded by the state Real Estate Transfer Tax, totaled $75,697.
Main Street Paragould received $23,792 for work on the buildings at 108 W. Main St. and the National Bank of Commerce Building and Main Street Rogers received $6,905 for work on the building at 221 S. First Street.
For more information on the AHPP's grant programs, write the agency at 1500 Tower Building, 323 Center St., Little Rock, AR 72201, call the agency at (501) 324-9880 [TDD 501-324-9811], send e-mail to info@arkansaspreservation.org or visit the AHPP's Internet web site at www.arkansaspreservation.org.
The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program is the agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage responsible for identifying, evaluating, registering and preserving the state's cultural resources. Other agencies are the Arkansas Arts Council, the Delta Cultural Center in Helena, the Old State House Museum, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and the Historic Arkansas Museum.