Parking spaces. They come at a premium at the University of Central Arkansas, which is why on Friday the university celebrated the construction of about 300 new spaces with a dedication ceremony that included U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder.
The new parking lot is being built just off Donaghey on a plot of land located behind Wingo Hall. For nearly 50 years prior, the land had been leased to the U.S. Army for an Army Reserve Center.
When the land was leased to the Army in 1957, the land was on the outskirts of campus and used as a cattle field. ?Board members at that time probably didn?t dream the campus would become what it is today,? Governmental Relations Director Jeff Pitchford said.
In 2001, Congress passed the Military Construction Appropriations Bill, providing the Army $5.6 million to build a new Reserve Center in the industrial park area Conway.
For UCA, that meant regaining access to the 3.5 acres of land, which even at that time, administrators predicted would be valuable as a parking lot.
UCA President Lu Hardin recognized Rep. Snyder for helping the university to regain control of the land, which, Hardin said, ?Under federal law, after the Armory gave it up, every federal agency had the right to claim.?
Hardin said Snyder ?cut through the bureaucracy and put a line in the law that said this property belongs to UCA.?
In appreciation of his efforts, Snyder was presented with a token of thanks ? a brick from the original Eldridge Harrington Army Reserve Center.
-Jennifer Boyett
