The Winrock ASPIRE Cohort Initiative
The Winrock ASPIRE Cohort Initiative
In May 2026, Winrock International concluded its landmark, grant-funded multi-year technical assistance engagement: ASPIRE (Advancing Sustainability and Preparedness in Rural Economies). This cohort-based initiative focused on empowering local leaders and volunteers in four historic rural communities in Arkansas: Altheimer, Wabbaseka, Humphrey, and Elaine. Funded by USDA Rural Development and the Walton Family Foundation, the ASPIRE project was supported by a diverse suite of technical partners, including Narrative 12 (crisis communication), the International Medical Corps (emergency readiness), and the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture (community research and housing).
NOB A+D collaborated alongside colleagues Kudzu Collective (lead) and Eckerson Architecture to deliver community-driven infrastructure design concepts. Through intensive local surveys, in-person workshops, and collaborative walking tours, our design team translated grassroots civic engagement into realistic, right-sized schematic designs. These unique concepts provide a reliable roadmap, matching dormant, city-owned architectural capital with vital public program needs—ranging from food security to emergency operations and intergenerational care. To view the entire project website that NOB A+D developed for the project, CLICK HERE.
NOB A+D collaborated alongside colleagues Kudzu Collective (lead) and Eckerson Architecture to deliver community-driven infrastructure design concepts. Through intensive local surveys, in-person workshops, and collaborative walking tours, our design team translated grassroots civic engagement into realistic, right-sized schematic designs. These unique concepts provide a reliable roadmap, matching dormant, city-owned architectural capital with vital public program needs—ranging from food security to emergency operations and intergenerational care. To view the entire project website that NOB A+D developed for the project, CLICK HERE.
1. Altheimer: ONEgeneration Community Center
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The Project: A complete, estimated $1.44 million rehabilitation and renovation of an abandoned 3,260-square-foot municipal building at 300 South Edline. The Vision: Transforming a dormant structure and its flat 1.74-acre site into a vibrant, multi-use, intergenerational hub where Altheimer’s youth and aging seniors can connect, interact, and learn from one another under one roof. |
Design Highlights:
- The “Blues & Heritage” Multi-Purpose Hall, utilizing a flexible accordion pocket partition to adapt seamlessly from private senior day programming to large-scale community events.
- An Intergenerational Teaching Kitchen and a food pantry designed to foster shared culinary traditions and address local food insecurity.
- A quiet, tech-connected Youth After-School Nook to welcome home students who are bussed to neighboring school districts.
- An expansive, multi-generational outdoor park featuring ADA-accessible raised garden beds, a community greenhouse, safe playgrounds, shaded verandas, and a perimeter walking trail—all integrated with rain gardens to mitigate regional flooding.
2. Elaine: ELAINEfresh Retail Grocery Store
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The Project: A $1.02 million adaptive reuse project converting an older 2,400-square-foot municipal shop and utility building at 212 Main Street. The Vision: Delivering self-determination and fresh food access to a designated Delta food desert. In response to the refusal of corporate dollar stores to provide fresh foods, the community co-created a retail grocery design that restores dignity and nutrition to local residents. |
Design Highlights:
- A bright, open-concept floor plan highlighted by a signature fresh produce department at the corner entrance, illuminated by natural light from energy-efficient windows.
- Comprehensive departments for prepared foods, meat, dairy, frozen goods, and dry staples, organized in an efficient and fully accessible layout.
- Ground-floor site improvements designed to support outdoor farmers' markets, pop-up events, and cultural festivals.
- Strategic alignment with the nearby Delta Heritage Trail to capture tourism and leverage Natural State Initiative incentives for local vendors.
3. Humphrey: CommUNITY Hall
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The Project: A $1.22 million spatial restructuring and renovation of a 5,700-square-foot former school vocational building at 410 South Division Street. The Vision: Restoring a critical civic asset. Following a severe windstorm in 2023 that destroyed Humphrey’s City Hall, municipal staff were temporarily relocated to the building. This design reconstructs the facility to seamlessly balance a secure, fully functional administrative suite with a revenue-generating public event hall. |
Design Highlights:
- A secure, controlled-access City Administration Suite featuring a welcoming lobby, administrative offices, and new city council/district court chambers.
- A completely re-established, 2,000-square-foot Community Event Room paired with a relocated catering kitchen and new, public accessible restrooms, enabling community members to rent the space once again.
- A specialized Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and secure law enforcement suite, complete with communication nodes, secure evidence storage, and built-in shower facilities for first responders.
4. Wabbaseka: Emergency Operations Center
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The Project: A $578,143 light renovation and 420-square-foot CMU addition to the existing 2,400-square-foot city administration building at 112 South First Street. The Vision: Establishing a critical regional emergency staging base and command post for first responders while maintaining municipal daily operations. |
Design Highlights:
- A specialized, 1,200-square-foot Turnout Room fitted with high-efficiency charging banks and custom, carpenter-built Modular Personnel Units that function as personal equipment lockers and convert to overnight beds.
- A 420-square-foot CMU structural addition that houses a 100-square-foot hardened tornado-safe room, new accessible locker rooms, and emergency water storage.
- A reconfigured administrative front office featuring a secure, shared workspace for the Mayor and City Clerk.
- A secure, enclosed outdoor area featuring a permanent canopy for emergency equipment trailers, an emergency backup generator pad, and roof-mounted potable water tanks.