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Historic preservation commission highlights 5-year gains: 21 National Register listings and $630,000 in grant funding
Summary
Commission chairs Christina Ollivan and Amber Jones presented accomplishments including 21 National Register listings, four historic districts, 1,746 resource surveys and $630,000 invested in six neighborhoods; new GIS story maps and outreach tools were also showcased.
Christina Ollivan, chair of the Detroit District Commission, and Amber Jones, vice chair of the Little Rock Historic District Commission, delivered a five-year presentation that catalogued preservation program accomplishments and outreach efforts.
Ollivan told the board the commission has pursued citywide preservation as a tool for housing quality, environmental stability and neighborhood identity. She summarized recent wins: 21 sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places, four historic districts added to the National Register, 1,746 historic resource surveys completed and $630,000 in grant funding obtained and invested across six historic neighborhoods.
Amber Jones described new guidance and tools: adoption of updated MacArthur Park Historic District design guidelines, expansion of administrative review rules to improve user friendliness, a Hillcrest resurvey in multiple phases through 2026, and new ArcGIS-based story maps and public-facing viewers to help residents locate historic resources. Jones said the nomination of Dunbar School and listing of University Park recognized African American history and that oral histories now sit at the Butler Center Archives.
The pair asked the board to note that preservation is a citywide activity supported by planning staff and that the commission will continue outreach through mailers, signage and social media. A QR code on their slide points residents to littlerock.gov/preservation for maps, forms and the 2009 preservation plan.
Why it matters: the presentation documented historic-resource investments and tools designed to make preservation processes more transparent for property owners and to connect residents with incentives like historic tax credits.
Next step: commissioners invited continued collaboration with the board and city departments and offered to answer questions at future meetings.
