Breckenridge Village Entertainment District, Plaza Frida

The Little Rock Board of Directors approved two new entertainment districts, annexed land for an industrial development project and set the city’s property tax rate at its meeting Tuesday.

One of the entertainment districts will span the entire Breckenridge Village property, allowing people to drink alcohol there from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week through the end of the year.

Breckenridge Village has been in the midst of extensive renovations since the mall was struck by the EF-3 tornado on March 31, 2023, which devastated portions of Little Rock, North Little Rock, Jacksonville and Sherwood.

Deluca’s Pizza, the popular Hot Springs pizzeria, opened a location at the mall on Oct. 2, and The Root Cafe and Flyway Brewing are opening locations there soon.

The other entertainment district will be located at Plaza Frida, a community venue highlighting Hispanic culture and traditions, but will only be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the following dates: October 27 and November 2, 16 and 30 .

In 2019, the city government approved an ordinance allowing the creation of entertainment districts, public areas where people can move freely with alcoholic drinks purchased in bars or restaurants. The River Market, for example, has been an entertainment district since 2019.

According to another resolution passed Tuesday, Little Rock will annex 292 acres of land near the Port of Little Rock. Trex, a manufacturer of composite decking and railings, is currently building a $400 million facility on the property.

The board also approved the city’s 2025 property tax rate: 15.1 mills, unchanged from this year’s rate. This figure does not include property taxes collected by the state.

Additionally, city managers authorized Mayor Frank Scott Jr. to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation and Bernhard Energy, a national engineering firm, to create a “sustainable energy district” in Little Rock.

Scott said the letter would allow the city to begin discussions with the Clinton Foundation and Bernhard “to find ways to optimize our assets in an energy efficient manner.”

Other notable agenda items approved include $170,000 to upgrade the city’s school zone flashers and $75,000 to further fund the Pulaski County Imagination Library, a local affiliate of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a program started by Parton in 1995 , which sends free books every month to children up to age 5.

Station 5 Director Lance Hines, who was absent from last week’s agenda-setting meeting, and Station 2 Director Ken Richardson were absent.

On August 1, the city of Little Rock announced that Richardson, who had not attended a board meeting since May 14, was in the hospital recovering from “life-threatening” surgeries.

According to the August press release, Richardson is on track to make a full recovery, but it is not clear when he will return to his public duties.

For more information about the city board and how it works, see our cheat sheet.