Ruby Dean has found her job as Little Rock's new land bank redevelopment administrator is both well-suited to her background and a well-timed change.
Dean, 62, oversees the 91 properties the city holds in its land bank and works with developers and community members who want to acquire them.
She started June 24, weeks after $2.1 million in budget cuts eliminated 44 city positions, 31 of which were filled.
One of the positions to be cut was Dean's, who was previously a neighborhood resource specialist at West Central Community Center. Even though she had no idea the cuts were coming, Dean said, she had been looking for something new to do anyway. She had applied for the redevelopment administrator job in January and had an interview in March.
"It was a blessing in disguise," Dean said. "That was perfect timing."
Dean said she had been looking for more of a challenge, and as a licensed real estate agent who worked for the Arkansas Development Finance Authority for 36 years, she thought the redevelopment administrator position would be a good fit.
Local governments and nonprofits use land banks to acquire and manage vacant land with the goal of stabilizing neighborhoods and encouraging redevelopment.
In Little Rock, most land bank properties are in wards 1, 2 and 7, sprinkled throughout east, downtown and southwest Little Rock, including in the Central High and 12th Street neighborhoods. Most are vacant lots; several have structures.
One of Dean's priorities is to make more people aware of the properties the city has. She's gone on two radio stations -- KWCP out of the West Central Community Center, and a Spanish-language station -- to inform people about redevelopment opportunities.
Dean said she was flooded with phone calls after one of the radio spots.
"A lot of people don't know about the land bank," she said. "We don't want the properties to just sit there in our inventory."
She said she also plans to do some workshops to increase people's knowledge.
Dean described herself as a "people person" and said the job is a good fit for her. A meeting with a neighborhood association Thursday morning was full of familiar faces, she said.
"It's so ironic -- I already knew them," she said. "I don't meet a stranger."
If she hadn't continued working with the city, Dean said she would have likely retired and done real estate work on the side. But she said the passing of her daughter, who died of cancer last year, made her realize she wanted to contribute her talents as best as she could.
She said it was bittersweet leaving West Central Community Center, where she worked with Ward 6 City Director Doris Wright to help spearhead initiatives such as hospitality training and a "little free library."
Wright praised Dean's efforts and said she would miss her work in Ward 6 at a city board meeting earlier this month.
"I'm really at a loss, because Ruby was the jewel that I've been waiting for," Wright said. "I'm glad you landed on your feet. I'm just so sorry you had to leave me. ... She kept things moving, and she kept people informed.
"Hopefully I can work with the land bank to get some of my properties developed."
Metro on 08/26/2019