Decades of revitalization have transformed this South Arkansas town into the vibrant place it is today
If you build it, they will come: That’s the lesson learned from Richard Mason’s work in downtown El Dorado over the past 50 years. He and his wife, Vertis, both natives of South Arkansas, inadvertently became some of the city’s biggest advocates in the 1980s when they began buying and remodeling old buildings. An exploration geologist by profession, Richard decided to locate the office for his company in the area’s once-bustling square. “When we moved back, it was dead as a doornail. I bet there wasn’t 15 percent occupancy in the stores around the courthouse,” he recalls. “We bought a few more buildings and remodeled them, and then when they leased up really quickly, we bought some more. We ended up with about 15 buildings. We had no intention of doing it. It was just kind of one of those things you get carried away with,” he says with a laugh.
…
