HomeMy WebLinkAboutemail Thomas about University Plaza CenterPage 1 of 1
Malone, Walter
From: University District [universitydistrictpartnership-I@ualr.edu] on behalf of Sara Thomas
[smthomas2@ualr.edu]
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 9:34 AM
To: universitydistrictpartnership-I@ualr.edu
Subject: UALR begins Coleman Creek Restoration
What: UALR begins Coleman Creek Restoration
When: 10:30 a.m. Thursday, July 19
Where: 5700 Block of Asher Avenue
East End of University Plaza Shopping Center
University District partners are invited to participate in one of Arkansas's largest restoration
projects Thursday morning on the southeastern border of the UALR campus. UALR Chancellor Joel E.
Anderson will turn the switch on a track hoe to help make way for the restoration of a five -acre tract
along ColemanCreek to its 19th century condition when it was a stop on the Trail of Tears.
The reclamation project will include removal of asphalt, paving and old buildings in the Coleman
Creek flood plain, including a one-time seafood restaurant that had concrete pilings in the creek. The
project will include planting of native trees, grasses and other vegetation along the creek and
construction of a symbolic "circle of life" pathway with historical markers designating the creek as a
watering stop on the Trail of Tears in the 1860s during the forced migration of 17,000 members of the
Cherokee Nation to the Indian territories.
UALR acquired the area being reclaimed in a 2004 land purchase of the University Plaza
Shopping Center. This acquisition extended the footprint of campus south to Asher Avenue. The area to
be restored is on the east end of the property purchasedand is in the Coleman Creek flood plain.
The reclamation of the area is part of the 2005 UALR campus master plan update and will be
included in the University District master plan aimed at improving life and business in the neighborhood
surrounding the UALR campus.
Sara Thomas
Administrative Assistant
University District
501.683.7356
2801 S. University Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72204-1099
http.1/www,ualr.edu/uniye
7/16/2007