Little Rock I-30 Deck Park

Reconnecting Communities Pilot Planning Grant

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Proposal Introduction and Overview

The MacArthur Park and Hanger Hill neighborhoods were once culturally, socially, and economically thriving communities within downtown Little Rock, Arkansas. During the 1950s, these neighborhoods benefited from a connectivity with the  downtown,  municipal parks, and the Central Business District. Little of these connected and prosperous neighborhoods remain today due to the “Urban Renewal” project of I-30 in 1961. The once flourishing neighborhoods disproportionately felt the burdens of I-30 construction resulting in a fractured area that lost housing, businesses, churches, and green spaces, significantly impacting the future economic, educational, and social development of these neighborhoods.


The impact of this fracturing, segregation, and the disenfranchisement of black  communities in schools, businesses, and neighborhoods still reverberates in Little Rock today. The proposed Deck Park project will reconnect the neighborhoods divided by I-30 and will be another step toward equity and opportunity for every citizen in Little Rock.

Letters of Support

The following individuals and organizations have advocated for the deck park by submitting letters in support to the United States Department of Transportation.

 

Co-Applicants

  • Arkansas Department of Transportation 

  • Coalition of Little Rock Neighborhoods

 

Governmental

  • John Boozeman, U.S. Senator

  • Tom Cotton, U.S. Senator

  • French Hill, Member of Congress

 

Local Support

  • Ann Honeycutt

  • Annie Abrams

  • Autumn Rains

  • Barry Hyde, Pulaski County Judge

  • Bernice Brakefield

  • Betty Jo Jones

  • Billie O'Neal

  • Brent Birch, Executive Director, Little Rock Tech Park

  • Central High Neighborhood, Inc. Board

    • Denise Leeson, President

    • Gary Iverson, Vice President

    • Ryan Porter, Treasurer

    • Ben-Gregory, Secretary

    • Bobby Mathews, Past President

  • Christ Temple Cathedral Church

    • Bishop Vernon E. Kennebrew, Pastor

    • Brother Derek Belcher, Deacon

  • Carol Lockard Worley, Worley, Wood & Parrish, P.A.

  • Caroline Stevenson

  • C.C. "Cliff" Gibson, III, Gibson & Keith Attorney's at Law

  • Chris East, President, studioMAIN

  • CTC Outreach Center

    • Sis. Shirley Willis, Pantry Manager

    • Sis. Shirley Williams, Assistant

  • Cynthia D. Reyes and Luis E. Reyes

  • Daman Hoffman

  • Dayle McCune

  • Debbie Shock

  • Denise Jones Ennett, State Representative, District 36

  • Donna Massey, Justice of the Peace, District 6

  • Downtown Little Rock Ministers

    • Paul Atkins, Canvas Community Church

    • David Freeman, First United Methodist Church

    • Kate Alexander, Christ Episcopal Church

    • Preston Clegg, Second Baptist Church

    • Amy Dafler Meaux, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral

  • Elizabeth B. Barger

  • Harold H. Hedges, MD

  • Jack Sundell, SoMa Neighborhood Business and Merchants Alliance (BAM)

    • Included multiple member signatures

  • James W. Bryan IV, MD, FAMSSM, FAAFP

  • James Evans-Hammond, Program Director, Depaul USA

  • Jan Thames

  • Jay Barth, Director, Williams J. Clinton Library

  • Jeanne Stovall

  • Jeremy Massiet, KARK 4/FOX 16

  • Jim McKenzie, AICP

  • Jim Guy Tucker, Governor of Arkansas 1992-1996

  • John O. Hedrick

  • Lakresha Diaz

  • Larry R. Benfield, Bishop of Arkansas, Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas

  • Libby Woolbright

  • Linda Fordyce, Secretary, Little Rock Firehouse Museum & Hostel

  • Linda Pondexter Chesterfield, Assistant Pro Tempore, District 30

  • Louise Logue

  • Loyd O. Braswell

  • M. Jack Hitt and Patricia Hitt

  • Mallory L. Mounce, Director of Development, Clinton School

  • Marion A. Humphrey, Sr., Attorney at Law, Humphrey & Humphrey Law Firm

  • Matilda W. Buchanan

  • Nate Coulter, Executive Director, Central Arkansas Library System

  • Neil Sealy, Executive Director, Arkansas Community Organizations

  • Norman Hodges, President, Heights Neighborhood Association

  • Paul T. Brown, St. Michael's Episcopal Church

  • Paul and Janet Crosmer, St. Michael's Episcopal Church

  • River Market Tower Property Owners Association, Board of Directors

    • Chris East, President

    • Christa Clark, Vice President

    • Christ Little

    • Fred Marshall

    • Bryan Pitts

  • Ronnie Jackson, President, East Little Rock Neighborhood Association

    • Included multiple member signatures

  • Sarah Thomas, President, Little Rock Downtown Neighborhood Association

  • Sharon Priest, MacArthur Park Group

  • Steve J. Landers Sr., 2022 Mayoral Candidate, Little Rock 

  • Stacy Hunt

  • Susan May

  • The Christian Ministerial Alliance

    • Judge Marion Humphre, Past President

    • Rev. Maxine Allen, Past President

    • Bishop Vernon E. Kennebrew, Current President

  • Tippi McCullough, State Representative, District 33

  • Valerie Wingert, Owner, South Main Creative

  • Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, Dean, University of Arkansas, Clinton School of Public Service

  • 300 Third Tower Property Owners Association, Board of Directors

    • Marla Hunt, President

    • Tim Daters, Vice President

    • Trenda Ray

    • Pattie Davidson

    • Nancy Rousseau

    • Robert Blake

  • 700 East Ninth St., Apt 13-H, Little Rock, AR