Reality has set in for the executive chairman of Downtown Forrest City.
When Jenny Vandiver began organizing efforts to revitalize the downtown of the St. Francis County seat four years ago, she had a much shorter timeline in mind than the one that has played out so far. Vandiver admits as much, but remains hopeful that the town of about 15,000 will once again become a must-stop for travelers along Interstate 40.
"It's been slow to take off," said Vandiver, the volunteer head of the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. "We do think we're on the brink of change. But it's going to be community-driven. The difficult way."
What Vandiver is saying without saying it is that Forrest City, roughly the midway point between Memphis and Little Rock, doesn't have the same access to capital and other resources that downtowns in Northwest Arkansas and El Dorado have. Specifically, there are no Walton, Tyson or Murphy families to invest millions in developing cultural amenities and to purchase real estate.
Transformations in El Dorado and Bentonville hardly happened overnight, but appear that way for folks trying the same thing elsewhere with a dearth of resources.
Instead of modeling after those towns, Forrest City organizers are looking closer to home. They recently released a master plan put together by the Ecological Design Group, a firm based in Wynne with offices in Little Rock and Rogers.
Wynne was the first such project for Ecological Design Group principal Martin Smith, who lives in Birdeye. He and his wife moved there in 2008 after spending time in Austin, Texas; Fort Collins, Colo.; and Little Rock.
Smith, a landscape architect and civil engineer, rehabilitated a home built by a great-great-grandfather in 1901. He has now turned his attention to overhauling Delta downtowns.
Marion recently contracted with him for help on its downtown. Wynne was his first such project and is a work in progress.
Northwest Arkansas has been a frequent work and recreation stop for Smith, who recognizes the challenges facing Delta downtowns that don't exist in other regions. Setting realistic goals is key.
"Goals have to be achievable," Smith said. "You can create vision plans and talk about this and that, but it might not be realistic. We don't have a huge benefactor in downtown Wynne, somebody in the community putting in money to make things happen, so we had to find ways to create on the money we had. We have to leverage and build upon it."
Wynne started with a splash park for kids. Space for a farmer's market and concerts were later added.
A five-year master plan was carried out in Wynne for about $2.5 million. As additional resources are located, additional improvements will be made, but already Smith said the downtown has become a "multigenerational gathering place."
Downtown Forrest City has about $50,000 in seed money from the town's Advertising & Promotions Commission. Acquiring the property needed to begin Phase I of the master plan will take about $150,000, Vandiver said.
Realistically, the plan will take about five years. Forrest City will start with green space and an area for concerts. Local artists will be commissioned to add to the murals that already exist downtown. Vandiver and Smith see Forrest City, birthplace of Al Green and a frequent stopping point for blues musicians in the 1930s and beyond, as a draw for blues-loving travelers headed to nearby Memphis or Helena-West Helena.
Vandiver is hopeful in that time frame no additional buildings are lost. Some have been condemned and demolished. Other structures were lost in a 2012 fire that required $40,000 and nearly 18 months to remove debris.
"We hope it's less than five years, but the finished product should be there in five years," Vandiver said. "We started brainstorming four years ago and it would be nice to begin seeing progress. It would be great to utilize the downtown again and bring community and commerce back downtown."
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SundayMonday Business on 09/25/2016