A section of Seventh Street in downtown Little Rock will be temporarily transformed today into an active, urban community as two local groups aim to show what could happen with more investment in the area.
Several blocks of the street - from Cross Street to Izard Street - will offer shopping, live music and a mini-golf course during Pop Up in the Rock.
The event, which runs today from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., is being hosted by studioMain and Create Little Rock, the young professionals arm of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The demonstration will include food trucks, fire station tours, a beer garden and an outdoor movie showing. Participating businesses already on the street include The Weekend Theater and Vino’s brewpub.
Chris East, who is leading the event, said Pop Up in the Rock is being held on Seventh Street because of its “urban fabric” and available buildings for temporary retail and community spaces.
“This urban fabric has slowly deteriorated and our intention is to demonstrate the activity and life that could occur by rebuilding with urban design elements,” he said in a emailed statement.
East said there is also capability for more transportation options, such as biking and walking, in addition to existing bus service.
Pop Up in the Rock is part of a national urban revitalization movement called a “Better Block” project, said Buckley O’Mell, with Create Little Rock.
“It serves as a live rendering of what a neighborhood or a few blocks could be,” he said. “The purpose is to leave behind in that community in that city what an area could be and hope they improve it.”
This is the second year Create Little Rock and studioMain held a pop-up event. In 2012, the two organizations hosted Pop-Up Main Street along South Main Street between Interstate 630 and 15th Street.
As part of last year’s event, the street was reduced from four lanes to two by adding a tree-lined hay-bale median and re-striping to create bike lanes.
Sharon Priest, executive director of Downtown Little Rock Partnership, said Pop-Up Main Street helped persuade city officials to consider repaving the street from Interstate 630 to Roosevelt Road.
Part of the plan calls for restriping the road and reducing it to two lanes with a center turn lane. Bicycle lanes will also be added to the street.
The Little Rock Board of Directors approved the plans in July. The work will be funded by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department and the city.
James Meyer, program director at studioMain, said the two organizations hope to bring the same attention to Seventh Street.
“The idea is to show what an active complete street can be like,” he said.
“We picked that part of town because we felt like there is so much potential there. We are hoping that by bringing some attention to Seventh Street it will spur on some development.”
Business, Pages 29 on 10/26/2013