Under the direction of Professor Paula Casey, who also serves on the University District Development Corporation (UDDC) board, the real estate law class with seven students is conducting a service-learning project to analyze homes in the district.

Dr. David Sink, professor in UALR’s Institute of Government, explained that service learning establishes an ethos of lifelong serving among students, gets faculty involved in service, and provides additional opportunities for UALR to be a service leader in Central Arkansas.

He shared the history of the campus’s emphasis on service and how it acquired funding to partner with other agencies to include building and renovating 15 houses in the district in the 1990s. About 12 of the original homeowners are still there.

Ron Copeland, director of the University District Partnership (UDP), demonstrated what distinguishes this district, giving background on planning documents, partners, and priorities – housing, education, and public safety.

Barrett Allen on the UDP staff has been responsible for administering plans for the UDDC to contract with the city to construct or rehab six houses in the district within 18 months. The first one for first-time home buyers (who haven’t owned a home in three years and fall within income limits – about $48,000 for a family of four) is on Harrison Street across from Franklin Elementary.

He said the UDDC has received $200,000 from the city’s HOME funds and will continue to raise funds for the endeavor, as well as got an agreement with Arvest Bank to finance the units.