The El Dorado Historic District Commission addressed mostly routine business Thursday during its first regular meeting of the year.
Commissioners selected candidates to fill two vacancies, discussed downtown projects and paid tribute a former member who recently passed away.
The commission briefly discussed a renovation project for a vacant commercial building 112 E. Elm.
The building formerly housed Mr. Tuxedo, which shuttered its downtown storefront operation and relocated last year due to a severe drop-off in business caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
For more information, visit Mr. Tuxedo’s Facebook page.
Elizabeth Eggleston, executive director of the EHDC, said property owners Jesse Prado and Holly Vance are working with Main Street El Dorado and Main Street Arkansas on the renovation to ready the building for prospective tenants.
Eggleston said Main Street Arkansas had shared architectural designs for the work, which covers the interior and exterior of the building.
She asked if a tenant had been secured for the building. Commissioner Teresa Golliher said she has spoken with Prado and learned that while there has been some interest in leasing the space, a new tenant has not yet been confirmed.
“He told me that if I knew of anybody to send them his way,” Golliher said.
Commissioner Diane Murfee inquired about the building that formerly housed LaBella Gourmet Gifts and Delicatessen on the corner of East Main and South Washington.
LaBella, which had long been one of the anchor shops in downtown El Dorado, closed its doors last summer because of COVID-19.
Golliher said the retail space is now home to Pupp’s BBQ, a popular eatery that is based in Smackover.
Eggleston said she is exploring options for funding to help property owner Beth Robinson replace the elevator inside the building.
She noted that the late Jim Robinson, the original owner of LaBella who passed away in 2020, drew much of his business from catering and large events in an upper-floor space inside the building.
“The main drawback to the building is the elevator … It’s going to have to be taken out and replaced,” Eggleston said, adding that she was researching grants to assist with the project.
Commissioners also recognized former Commissioner J. Parks Hammond, who died Jan. 3 from a sudden illness.
Hammond was instrumental in revising the EHDC’s design review guidelines, which set the standard for development within the city’s commercial historic district.
He served on a sub-committee that spent almost three years — nearly Hammond’s entire tenure on the commission — revising the then-decade-old guidelines.
The project was completed in 2017.
“We’ll be eternally grateful for his diligence on that project,” Eggleston said.
Added Golliher, “He was very knowledgeable,”
“He certainly didn’t mince words. That was true,” EHDC chairman Ken Bridges said, drawing a laugh from other commissioners.
Eggleston said she attended church with Hammond, an architect and longtime advocate of historic preservation. She said the pair worked on preservation projects for their church and Hammond exhibited the same passion and tenacity at church as he did for the EHDC.
“As they said at the funeral, he was eccentric in some ways but you would always want him on your team,” she recalled.
In other business, the commission selected candidates to fill two vacancies.
Commissioners unanimously approved applications from Beth Callaway to fill a position with a three-year term and Steve Biernacki for a one-year term.
Callaway has experience in real estate and is a licensed Realtor and Biernacki was hired last year as the executive director of the South Arkansas Historical Preservation Society.
Eggleston said a total of three applications were submitted.
Two other people expressed interest in joining the EHDC, but one person did not submit an application and the other lives outside city limits, rendering him ineligible to sit on the city commission, she explained.
Eggleston said the third application will be kept on file for future consideration when another seat opens.
Bridges said the EHDC’s recommendation will be forwarded to the El Dorado City Council for final approval.