A Roadmap for Creating a Complete Neighborhood.

By Daniel Church

A conceptual vision of transforming the Arkansas River waterfront into a gathering place with water play and recreation. *Image from Sasaki*

It seems unlikely that when Jean-Baptiste Bénard de La Harpe first saw “la petite roche” (“the little rock”) at the narrow crossing of the Arkansas River in 1722, he or anyone else could have envisioned it would one day become the heart of a thriving region, adorned with steel-and-glass skyscrapers and home to a vibrant center of government. But as a small trading post at the river’s edge transformed into a center of business for all of Arkansas, Downtown Little Rock was born.

Downtown has seen a great deal of change in its 200-year history. As the state’s most populated city and state capital, it is home to the largest concentration of institutions, cultural amenities and historical locations in Arkansas. It is also Arkansas’s largest employment center, with nearly 43,000 jobs. As the governmental, health care and financial heart of Arkansas, the success of Downtown Little Rock is critical for the success of the entire state.

A conceptual vision of a redesigned LaHarpe Boulevard as a slow-speed two-lane parkway will transform the riverfront and improve connections from downtown to the water. *Image from Sasaki*

A conceptual vision of the new 30 Crossing Park at 2nd Street and Sherman Street. *Image from Sasaki*

Like many downtowns, Downtown Little Rock aims to redefine itself in a post-COVID world. Over the last decade, downtown has seen marginal job growth when compared to the rest of Central Arkansas and has seen employers leave for suburban locations. Concerns about safety and homelessness, a lack of quality of life amenities and a general sense of lifelessness are often cited as to why employers relocated. And while the impacts of the post-COVID job market still linger, activity in downtown has largely rebounded back to pre-pandemic numbers. Residential demand is high, with multifamily occupancy over 95%. Retail is thriving in the River Market, Main Street, SOMA and East Village areas. Tourism is strong, with new hotels planned. Most importantly, new investment is underway. The renovation and expansion of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in MacArthur Park has created a cultural centerpiece in downtown to complement the Clinton Presidential Center, which is planning its own major expansion. The Arkansas attorney general, in partnership with Moses Tucker Partners, is renovating the Boyle Building at Main Street and Capitol Avenue, saving the oldest skyscraper in Arkansas. New investments and expansion by Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Artscape are just some of the numerous projects planned for downtown. It is an exciting time for Downtown Little Rock, but now is the moment to capitalize on these key investments to catalyze well-planned growth and success into the coming decades.

Creating a Master Plan
Having never had a comprehensive plan, downtown’s success has largely been a series of disconnected projects and private investments. In 2023, knowing that a plan for downtown was essential for its success post-COVID, the city of Little Rock, in collaboration with the Downtown Little Rock Partnership, hired Sasaki, an internationally renowned planning and design firm, to complete the master plan. Sasaki has been instrumental in downtown planning efforts around the country, including in Raleigh, North Carolina; Houston; and Greenville, South Carolina. At its core, the Downtown Little Rock Master Plan, which is funded through federal dollars received through the American Reinvestment Plan Act, is a roadmap for city officials, the Downtown Partnership, other agencies and private investment to steer decisions and investment over the coming years and decades.

The downtown master planning process began in fall 2023 with a large public meeting and a series of steering committee and focus groups comprised of dozens of downtown residents, business owners, city officials and elected leaders. During this discovery and analysis phase, Sasaki absorbed as many ideas, concerns and aspirations as possible to serve as the foundation for establishing a guiding vision and values. Dozens of potential ideas were workshopped with the public at another round of engagement in December. This prioritization helped inform a more detailed review of the emerging Big Ideas and strategies in February. This last round of public engagement, along with an implementation workshop with the steering committees and city leadership, informed the implementation chapter that anchors the entire plan. A draft of the master plan was released to the public in May 2024. Comments from the public will lead to updates and revisions, with the final plan slated to be adopted by the city of Little Rock’s Board of Directors later in summer 2024.

The removal of the off-ramps through the reconstruction of Interstate 30 presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a premier park in the heart of the city. A conceptual vision of the future of Downtown Little Rock, with new development, improved open spaces, and enhanced connectivity and mobility. *Image from Sasaki*

What’s In The Plan?

Throughout the nine-month planning process, Sasaki received thousands of public comments across three surveys, seven public meetings, numerous pop-up events and dozens of conversations with downtown stakeholders. Key themes began to emerge around open space, mobility, economic development, urban design, and culture and institutions. These themes helped establish the Big Ideas that form the plan’s foundation:

Downtown should be a tapestry of neighborhoods
Downtown’s open spaces and trails should serve as rambles to the river
Reimagining mobility should loop, stitch and reconnect people from where they are to where they need and want to go
Culture is a catalyst for placemaking and growth

Each of these bold and aspirational ideas serves as a visionary guide for investment and infrastructure. The plan outlines roughly 10 strategies for each Big Idea, including potential projects, partnerships, programs and policies necessary for success. For each strategy, there is a clear summary for when implementation should occur, who is responsible for its implementation and how each strategy will be funded. Of the broad-reaching 44 strategies, a few key ones are worth noting and have the opportunity to be immensely transformative.

The first, and most critical, is to increase the residential population of downtown. Downtown Little Rock’s residential density is up to four times less than comparable cities such as Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Richmond, Virginia. More population means more activity, more retail, more vibrancy — all of which change perceptions about safety and lifelessness. But in order to attract more residents, it is critical to build more housing, which will require new financial incentive tools to enable denser construction types to be built. The plan outlines a series of strategies, including the creation of a new tax increment financing district, to help incentivize new development.

Engagement with the community has been essential in shaping the ideas outlined in the Master Plan. Image from Downtown Little Rock Partnership

Although housing demand is high, it is also important to improve the experience of living and working downtown. Throughout the process, the public highlighted the desire for downtown to more actively embrace and celebrate its riverfront. The Arkansas River is the lifeblood of the city, and yet, the city largely turns its back to it. Fixing this will require a series of infrastructure and open space enhancements to change that dynamic. One key strategy is to reimagine La Harpe Boulevard as a two-lane parkway that meanders through Riverfront Park instead of dividing the city from the water. Another key strategy will be to redevelop public land near the water into housing and retail. Lastly, there exists an incredible opportunity to transform the 18 acres left over from the reconstruction of Interstate 30 into a jewel of a central park for all of Central Arkansas. This new park should be an oasis of activity that connects downtown to the riverfront where new opportunities for water recreation could occur. These new assets, combined with new daily needs amenities such as a grocery store and other retail, can turn downtown into a complete neighborhood.

The plan also outlines strategies for other areas of downtown. West Ninth Street was once Little Rock’s Black Main Street that was fragmented by the construction of Interstate 630. New streetscape enhancements, alongside a proposed Black Entrepreneurship and Innovation Hub operated in partnership with local institutions such as the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, could transform West Ninth into a vibrant new neighborhood anchoring the southern end of downtown. Capitol Avenue should be reimagined as a two-lane vibrant ceremonial street that connects the heart of the urban core with the state capitol. Regulatory, zoning and development approval process changes should be made to expedite and incentivize downtown development, and many of downtown’s one-way streets should be changed to two-way traffic flow.

A full draft of the master plan can be found at mp.downtownlr.com.

Making It Happen

The success of Central Arkansas is contingent on a thriving urban core that serves as the beating heart of the region. A great downtown is a signal nationally that Central Arkansas is an investment worth making and a trip worth taking. And while the strategies outlined in the master plan will help Downtown Little Rock grow and thrive, they will not happen overnight. They will require long-term support from the broader Central Arkansas community. It is critical for everyone to become an advocate for the ideas in the plan that are important to you, and, more importantly, to become an advocate for downtown. Support downtown restaurants and retail, and encourage out-of-town visitors to take a gander at its museums or stay in the hotels. Your support and the guidance of the master plan can unlock Downtown Little Rock as a one-of-a-kind urban experience for which everyone wants to be a part.

Daniel Church is an urban planner for Sasaki Associates, the firm hired by the city of Little Rock to complete the Downtown Master Plan. Daniel lives in Denver, and is a Little Rock native and a graduate of Central High School.