Representatives from Washington D.C. Visit El Dorado

This week two representatives from our nation's capital visited our community.  The two ladies work for HUD and the task at hand was to meet with the group who is working on the HOPE VI Main Street projects.  After reviewing the requirements for money disbursement, the contract between the City and HUD, and fielding many questions; they were given a tour of both buildings. 
Our group has been working together on this project for about two years, so with the expertise of our grant administrator, City staff and building owners we were able to address any concerns that were expressed by HUD.  Several times the ladies mentioned that we have a well-prepared group and that they were impressed with the readiness of our community. 

During the tours, I took some more pictures of the progress that has happened recently.  The Ellet Opera House, as I explained in earlier posts, had a collapsed roof.  This caused a lot of damage to the upper floor.  Every time it would rain or snow, the damage would worsen.  The owners of the building have recently replaced the roof.  You can see below the nice bright white roof.  This picture was taken from the 4th floor of the old Commerce Bank building.

In addition to the new roof, there has been clean-up taking place inside the building.

On the main floor, there has also been some clean-up happening.  It is always very interesting what you might find when cleaning out these old buildings. 

This odd arch was found in the very back of the retail space.  There are a couple guesses as to why this arch was built in such a way.  No matter what the reason, it is definitely interesting. 

As progress continues, I will try to keep posting pictures.  We are hoping to document every step of the process.