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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCover Letter 112023,DHMA .-P w DUNBAR / HORACE MANN ARCHIVES BUILDING PR P.O. Box 166863 Little Rock (Pulaski County), Arkansas 72216 www.DHMABRfoundation Board of Directors November 13, 2023 President Raymond Frazier City of Little Rock Vice President Department of Planning and Development William Cochran 723 West Markham Little Rock, AR 72201 Recording Secretary Faye Miller Thomas re: Scipio A. Jones House (NR 1999), 1872 South Cross Treasurer Paul Laurence Dunbar School Neighborhood Historic Harold Gardner District: Application for PZD Parliamentarian Sterling Ingram Greetings, On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Dunbar / Horace Mann Archives Building Project Foundation - the Owners of this historic property, we are pleased to submit our completed P.Z.D. 501 (c) 3 Non -Profit application. Attached are three (3) copies of the certified land Organization survey; eighteen (18) copies of the site plan; an affidavit; the Bill of Assurance; the completed application and the application fee. Our primary intent for this property is to restore the exterior and rehabilitate the interior as a museum housing a diverse collection of historic documents related to the legacies of Little Rock's Dunbar High School and Horace Mann High School. This collection is currently housed in separate locations, some of which lack public access. Ancillary use of the house shall be for the national headquarters office of the Dunbar /Horace Mann Alumni Association and for periodic alumni events. The museum will be opened to the public utilizing volunteers to guide visitors through the house. The second floor shall be our resource library for converting hardcopy documents to digital format and organization of files for academic research and archival storage. The site shall include a new two -level carriage house on the northwest boundary - as a residential unit on the upper level for a full time caretaker of the house as well as storage on the ground level for equipment. The new carriage house shall mimic the original architectural style of the main house. 2- 99d9 DUNBAR / HORACE MANN ARCHIVES BUILDING PROJECT FOUNDATION Letter to City of Little Rock (P.Z.D. Application), November 13, 2023, page 2 The restoration of the original house shall be done in compliance with the Secretary of the Interior's Guidelines for the Rehabilitation of Historic Properties. We have initiated an active fund-raising campaign to accommodate this objective. Our intent is to initiate a contributing positive image within this historic district and as well as a respectful venue in honor of Atty. Scipio A. Jones. We intend to have the premises open to the public on normal hours (9am - 5pm), each day of the week except for Monday. Special events and scheduled tours shall be accommodated and our full-time, live-in caretaker (within the planned carriage house) shall provide the necessary security and hospitality simulating a functioning single family residence. The overall site shall receive a new landscaping scheme with an ambiance of a normal single family residential lot including a low profile non -illuminated sign recognizing the name of the house as it relates to its historic status. A new six foot wooden opaque fence shall line the north and west boundary of the site. A variance is requested (if appropriate as a 'variance') to abandon the existing alley on the west to increase the rear yard footage for planned receptions, alumni events and master garden areas. We certainly intend for the house to be ADA accessible and have proposed the use of an exterior grade hydraulic wheelchair lift encased within the reconstruction of the rear porch. A wheelchair accessible toilet shall be incorporated into the interior layout. We strongly believe that the planned redevelopment of the Scipio A. Jones House will provide a positive boost to the overall neighborhood as well as increase the influx of heritage tourism to this city. u very much! 2Raymond Frazier President, Dunbar/Horace ann Archives Building Project Foundation