Arkansas City’s historic downtown is a diamond in the rough.
It could be developed into a great marketing tool, a consultant who recently completed a resurvey of the district said.
Downtown property owners have not been taking full advantage of the financial resources available for maintaining the historical quality of their buildings, said Brenda Spencer, of Spencer Preservation, based in Wamego.
Her resurvey of Ark City’s historic downtown district and adjacent areas follows up on a survey conducted 35 years ago. It resulted in the downtown being listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The resurvey was conducted after the City of Arkansas City approved a resolution authorizing it last October. A state historic preservation grant of $13,000 was awarded for the cost of the project.
The city’s cost share consisted of in-kind volunteer time and staff time. All matching funds are reimbursable through the Historic Preservation Fund Grant, administered by the National Park Service.
“If you take a look at the buildings downtown, you have a pretty impressive collection of buildings for a community this size,” Spencer said.
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