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South Main and the Quapaw Quarter


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Lately there has been more hype about issues with safety along South Main. The Downtown Neighbors' Association brought complaints to the ABC over loiterers in and around Warehouse Liquor on Main. There have long been complaints about loiterers and panhandlers on the parking lot and at the convenience store near Juanita's and Midtown. Last night a 24-year old girl was apparently murdered and another young man was shot as they were in the wrong place at 2 AM as bullets flew in altercation between some locals and some others from NLR.

When is the city going to step in and address this? This is a part of town begging to become its own niche entertainment district like Main St Argenta and safety is the single obstacle preventing the Quapaw Quarter from becoming a vibrant, reborn neighborhood. It's a showcase neighborhood, home of the governor. Can we not clean this crap up?

You have to be blind not to see the potential in the area. Stodola has a big reputation as a historic preservationist. He needs to get on the ball on this situation.

Why not a small police station there similar to what was put in near the River Market? In fact I would argue this is where it should've been built in the first place.

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Lately there has been more hype about issues with safety along South Main. The Downtown Neighbors' Association brought complaints to the ABC over loiterers in and around Warehouse Liquor on Main. There have long been complaints about loiterers and panhandlers on the parking lot and at the convenience store near Juanita's and Midtown. Last night a 24-year old girl was apparently murdered and another young man was shot as they were in the wrong place at 2 AM as bullets flew in altercation between some locals and some others from NLR.

When is the city going to step in and address this? This is a part of town begging to become its own niche entertainment district like Main St Argenta and safety is the single obstacle preventing the Quapaw Quarter from becoming a vibrant, reborn neighborhood. It's a showcase neighborhood, home of the governor. Can we not clean this crap up?

You have to be blind not to see the potential in the area. Stodola has a big reputation as a historic preservationist. He needs to get on the ball on this situation.

Why not a small police station there similar to what was put in near the River Market? In fact I would argue this is where it should've been built in the first place.

The sad part is that the LRPD Downtown Substation is just a little over 1/2 mile from Juanita's. During shift change the police are crawling all over this area. But they never seem to be there when needed most -- e.g. when bars close, new years eve, etc. A few months ago when a man was shot just 200ft (no exaggeration) from this substation's front door, their response time was still over 5 minutes. I don't know if they ever caught the shooter.

I wonder about the effectiveness of those police neighborhood watch centers. The one in the Rivermarket probably works well due to the dense pedestrian traffic. One was put in Capitol View with some fanfare, but I've heard recent stories of it not even being manned. In one case a resident told me of a 20 minute response time for an emergency just a block away from this watch center. I take that back, I'm sure they are effective when implemented correctly.

Back to the Juanitas-SoMa area... I think some of the local merchants could do a better job of discouraging the loitering and panhandling. Hear that, convenient store, Harvest Foods, Community Bakery? I've watched such things going on in the Harvest Foods checkout line right in front of their "security" guard for pete's sake! Fuller&Sons are the only ones I've seen remove people from their premises.

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Warehouse Liquor, the convenience store, and the strip center with Juanita's and Midtown probably each need a security guard around the clock to discourage loitering. Still, an hourly or bihourly police patrol in the evenings and asking the loiterers to leave would probably help.

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While this crime is inexcusable, and I concur with the points made about adequate security, etc....one still has to question the wisdom of being out at 2:00 a.m. - frankly, anywhere in town.

It was only a few years ago I would commonly go to Disco or Midtown and stay out until 4. 2 is the magic number for things happening as that's closing time at most Arkansas bars. LR has a decent nightlife and there's nothing wrong with going out and having a good time.

You never have to worry about getting shot on Dickson. Thank God the perception is that River Market is safe. If something ever happened down there it would be catastrophic.

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It was only a few years ago I would commonly go to Disco or Midtown and stay out until 4. 2 is the magic number for things happening as that's closing time at most Arkansas bars. LR has a decent nightlife and there's nothing wrong with going out and having a good time.

You never have to worry about getting shot on Dickson. Thank God the perception is that River Market is safe. If something ever happened down there it would be catastrophic.

It's certainly anyone's right to go out and have a good time until 2:00 if you so well please, but that late...you're just asking for trouble - anyway you want to slice it.

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It's certainly anyone's right to go out and have a good time until 2:00 if you so well please, but that late...you're just asking for trouble - anyway you want to slice it.

If you are asking for trouble, then that says awful things about LR. You're not asking for trouble in Fayetteville if you stay out that late.

If we want the River Market area to continue to succeed, and it NLR wants Main St Argenta to succeed they have to make people feel that they're safe staying out late.

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If you are asking for trouble, then that says awful things about LR. You're not asking for trouble in Fayetteville if you stay out that late.

If we want the River Market area to continue to succeed, and it NLR wants Main St Argenta to succeed they have to make people feel that they're safe staying out late.

I don't know how to say this any other way - nothing good happens after 2:00 a.m. Nothing. You risk something by staying out that late ANYWHERE. I think its horrible, and its too bad that that is the case, and yes, there is a higher risk in some areas than others, but it is what it is. Like I said, if you think the enjoyment until that hour is worth the extra risk, then that is your right.

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If you are asking for trouble, then that says awful things about LR. You're not asking for trouble in Fayetteville if you stay out that late.

If we want the River Market area to continue to succeed, and it NLR wants Main St Argenta to succeed they have to make people feel that they're safe staying out late.

Welcome to non-Polyanna. Hello...you ARE asking for trouble if you stay out late in Fayetteville or Dallas or anywhere else. Trouble DOES happen in cities and with young people and the vast majority happens after midnight. Yeah, people have to feel safe, but that doesn't change reality, which is that the late element has more than it's fair share of problems. Having spent a great deal of time in a great number of cities, I can attest that while I have "felt" safe many times, I have actually been quite close to some memorably unsavory events.

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nothing good happens after 2:00 a.m.

Come on, some good things happen. When you mix girls and liquor and dance until 2 even a guy like me gets lucky once in a while.

I agree that it's more dangerous late at night than in the daytime. That said, I've pushed my luck most of my life without consequences. People I know have had their cars stolen, been carjacked, and been robbed had it happen to them in broad daylight, many in areas not considered unsafe (UAMS campus and nearby, K-Mart on Rodney Parham, etc). One of my friend was robbed in broad daylight at lunchtime at Jimmy's Serious Sandwiches.

Of the people I know in LR that have run into trouble late at night, it was generally in the parking lot of Midtown/Juanita's. In fact it was in every single case I know of.

That said, nobody I know hangs out at the Palace. I've heard that place at 2 AM is a good place to get shot.

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I don't know how to say this any other way - nothing good happens after 2:00 a.m. Nothing. You risk something by staying out that late ANYWHERE. I think its horrible, and its too bad that that is the case, and yes, there is a higher risk in some areas than others, but it is what it is. Like I said, if you think the enjoyment until that hour is worth the extra risk, then that is your right.

That's right. You're much safer at, say... 3:30pm on Main St in NLR.

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  • 1 year later...

UALR has released its study for the redevelopment of the SoMa area. SoMa Study.

It includes five strategic projects.

1. Freeway Park to be developed over I-630 with buildings of up to 15 stories on the south side of the park.

2. The Gateways

3. Streetscape

4. Streetcar expansion down Main Street to 17th and return north on Scott.

5. VA Park

It also calls for the redevelopment of South Main with mixed use buildings up to 5 stories.

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UALR has released its study for the redevelopment of the SoMa area. SoMa Study.

It includes five strategic projects.

1. Freeway Park to be developed over I-630 with buildings of up to 15 stories on the south side of the park.

2. The Gateways

3. Streetscape

4. Streetcar expansion down Main Street to 17th and return north on Scott.

5. VA Park

It also calls for the redevelopment of South Main with mixed use buildings up to 5 stories.

Whoa, some of this looks amazing. I hope all of this works out. It sort of reminds me of Oklahoma City's Core to Shore project.

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  • 3 months later...

When were these taken? I was by there a couple of weeks ago and most all of them were for sale. Which is sad because I know they had been on the market for close to a year. The ones I remember having for sale signs were the four brick duplex units, two of the three cottages and the left half of the cottage-looking duplex.

I hope the slow sales are just a sign of the overall market and of the overall desire to live in downtown.

Edited by adman0468
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When were these taken? I was by there a couple of weeks ago and most all of them were for sale. Which is sad because I know they had been on the market for close to a year. The ones I remember having for sale signs were the four brick duplex units, two of the three cottages and the left half of the cottage-looking duplex.

I hope the slow sales are just a sign of the overall market and of the overall desire to live in downtown.

These were taken today. One thing I have to say about the area is why are there still one way streets. There is no need and most of them dead end or start at I-630. With the amount of property available for redevelopment the population in this area could probably increase by at least 30% to 50%.

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I hope the slow sales are just a sign of the overall market and of the overall desire to live in downtown.

That area is a tough sell with most LR area residents. The big push is towards Benton/Bryant, Cabot, and Conway, but even in LR city limits, the growth right now is in far west LR. Most Arkansans aren't yet ready for downtown living and especially Quapaw with it being so close to the most high-crime areas of the metro.

Trends in Arkansas are generally about a decade behind the rest of the US, so we should start seeing the desire to live downtown increase throughout the next decade, especially if oil goes as high as some predict it will.

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That area is a tough sell with most LR area residents. The big push is towards Benton/Bryant, Cabot, and Conway, but even in LR city limits, the growth right now is in far west LR. Most Arkansans aren't yet ready for downtown living and especially Quapaw with it being so close to the most high-crime areas of the metro.

Trends in Arkansas are generally about a decade behind the rest of the US, so we should start seeing the desire to live downtown increase throughout the next decade, especially if oil goes as high as some predict it will.

The people that choose to live in this area aren't the same people that move to the suburbs. They would most likely live in Hillcrest, the Heights, Argenta, Park Hill, Stifft Station, Fair Park or similar older neighborhoods in town.

The Quapaw Quarter's rebound has been going on for 30 years. At one point very few areas were not in severe decay. It's been a slow reclamation going on for 3 decades but safety issues still impede progress. The area has the perception of not being safe, has a lot of vagrants, and is bordered by high crime areas to the South and West. Argenta housing and new developments in downtown proper provide significant competition.

The freeway park idea is wonderful but this is prohibitively costly. In Dallas this is being done along the Woodall-Rodgers Freeway and the cost is causing issues even for a city with a population half the size of our state. I own adjacent property and would gain from it significantly but I just don't see it being feasible in this market right now.

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The freeway park idea is wonderful but this is prohibitively costly. In Dallas this is being done along the Woodall-Rodgers Freeway and the cost is causing issues even for a city with a population half the size of our state. I own adjacent property and would gain from it significantly but I just don't see it being feasible in this market right now.

I saw the renderings for the freeway park idea and it amazed me that something like that could even be considered in a city our size. I hope it comes to fruition, but we probably will have to wait for better economic conditions.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Lately there has been more hype about issues with safety along South Main. The Downtown Neighbors' Association brought complaints to the ABC over loiterers in and around Warehouse Liquor on Main. There have long been complaints about loiterers and panhandlers on the parking lot and at the convenience store near Juanita's and Midtown. Last night a 24-year old girl was apparently murdered and another young man was shot as they were in the wrong place at 2 AM as bullets flew in altercation between some locals and some others from NLR.

When is the city going to step in and address this? This is a part of town begging to become its own niche entertainment district like Main St Argenta and safety is the single obstacle preventing the Quapaw Quarter from becoming a vibrant, reborn neighborhood. It's a showcase neighborhood, home of the governor. Can we not clean this crap up?

You have to be blind not to see the potential in the area. Stodola has a big reputation as a historic preservationist. He needs to get on the ball on this situation.

Why not a small police station there similar to what was put in near the River Market? In fact I would argue this is where it should've been built in the first place.

On the crime issue, spotcrime.com has some enligtening information about alot of cites, but while it does include Little Rock, the owner admits he needs someone to accurately feed him statistics, which is woefully obvious http://www.spotcrime.com/ar/little+rock

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  • 10 months later...

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