El Dorado noted twice as “City of Distinction”

El Dorado was twice lauded in today’s Arkansas Business for preserving Main Street and providing its citizens with a high quality of life.

The weekly publication recognized El Dorado as a 2011 City of Distinction in the pair of categories for a city with a population below 20,000. Don Hale and Alan Gober were behind the nominations that caught the three judges’ eyes.

The first award noted El Dorado’s historic downtown and the work put into the area to bring it back to life after the oil boom of the 1920s began to fizzle out.

According to the article, “The hard work has paid off — done are the boarded-up shops and windows that began to crop up in the late ’80s. Downtown El Dorado has been transformed into a vibrant and unique area, offering bed-and-breakfasts, shopping, upscale restaurants and more.”

A fusion of new projects in El Dorado garnered the win in the quality of life category.

The article takes notice of the new El Dorado High School, El Dorado Conference Center and South Arkansas Community College’s Health Science Building — representing a combined $76 million in investments locally.

Gober, who is quoted in the piece, said, “The city has weathered many economic challenges over the last few years, but still stands tall as the economic, cultural, educational and recreational hub of this region.”