Clinton Presidential Center Impact Evaluation and Analysis
CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER IMPACT EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 15, 2014 The William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park opened in November 2004 following a multi- year process that included consideration of as many as 30 sites. At the time the downtown Little Rock site was selected, Central Arkansas leaders expected the Clinton Center to accelerate redevelopment in the downtown area, increase tourism, and enhance the state’s perception nationally and globally. In choosing a site, President Clinton and his team wanted to ensure that the chosen location would benefit socially and economically. In fact, an abandoned rail-switching yard in Little Rock’s warehouse district was selected with the belief that the former brownfield site would spark reinvestment in the area. In 1999, two years after the site was announced, an article in USA Today stated, “The depressed surrounding warehouse district has been reinvigorated and downtown Little Rock is suddenly the place to be…” The Clinton Center and Park, built at a cost of $165 million, covers approximately 30 acres and includes the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, the associated archives and research center, the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, and the Arkansas offices of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation. In addition to the Library building, the Park includes the Choctaw Station, a renovated train station that houses the Clinton School, and the Rock Island Railroad Bridge, which has been restored as a pedestrian bridge crossing the Arkansas River. The William E. “Bill” Clark Presidential Park Wetlands encompasses 13 acres within the Park along the Arkansas River.
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