LITTLE ROCK— As part of the 2020 Arkansas Municipal League Winter Conference held February 12-14 in the Capital City, Main Street Arkansas presented awards for Excellence in Downtown Revitalization to deserving program members. Main Street Arkansas is part of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, an agency of Arkansas Parks, Heritage and Tourism. Nominations for the awards were garnered from submissions from participating Main Street and
Downtown Network Community programs from around the state. The 2020 Excellence in Downtown Revitalization Awards were presented by Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourist Stacy Hurst.
TOLM Group received the award for Best Downtown Improvement Project for the renovation of their Corporate Headquarters in Downtown Morrilton. The project, completed in August 2019, included the renovation and historic preservation of the 20,000 sqft historic Coca Cola Bottling plant originally built in 1929. The nomination was submitted by Main Street Morrilton which is a Downtown Network within the Main Street Arkansas program.
“Main Street Arkansas is the perfect combination of historic preservation, community revitalization, economic development, job creation and heritage tourism,” Hurst told a crowd of approximately 200 guests, including public officials from counties around the state. “It’s a great program that is reaping huge rewards.”
For more information about Main Street Arkansas and the awards, contact Greg Phillips, Main Street Arkansas director, at greg.phillips@arkansas.gov or (501) 324-9150. Main Street Arkansas is a program within the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program (AHPP), an agency of Arkansas Heritage. AHPP is responsible for identifying, evaluating, registering and preserving the state’s cultural resources. Arkansas Heritage is a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks,
Heritage and Tourism.