Ruston

RUSTON, LOUISIANA We are more than an engineering firm. We are planners. We are architects. We are developers. We are professionals. We approach each project with A DYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE. For 39 years, KSA has assisted airports in their overall growth and development. At Ruston Regional Airport—and airports across the country—we have provided dedicated, attentive, problem-solving services that favorably impact not only the airports themselves, but the communities they serve. KSA is proud to be a preferred vendor for Ruston, Louisiana. ksaeng.com ∙ 877.572.3647 ∙ aviation@ksaeng.com PREFERRED VENDORS n Hunt, Guillot & Associates www.hga-llc.com HGA is a multi-disciplined, project management & engineering services firm, providing professional services to an extensive portfolio of customers throughout numerous industries. Founded in 1997, over the years, HGA has grown from a single trailer to thirteen locations throughout Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, and New York, providing services in over 30 states, Canada, and Mexico. n KSA www.ksaeng.com n Collier Investments www.barroncolliercommercial.com n Lincoln Agency Inc. www.lincolnagency.com and how it can be made better.And every decision flowed from that newvision. For example, Ruston took the old Rock Island Railroad track which ran north to south and had been abandoned for twenty years, and created six miles of bike trails that are just a short distance frommore than half of the homes in the city.The cityalso created newstreets and built a newexit from the interstate. “We always had a veryvibrant downtown,”Walker adds.“The previousmayor startedwhat theycalled Streetscape about ten years ago,whichwas about taking certain streets downtown,burying all utilities, doing some flowerbeds,upgrades to the sidewalks, lighting,and things like that.So,we’re continuing that process andwe have a very,veryvibrant downtown with lots of restaurants and shops. “Another thingwe didmyfirst year in officewas to bring in the State FireMarshall as part of what we called theUpstairs Development Initiative.He came in and explained to our folks howtheycould take those upstairs lofts that were not being used,were not in commerce at all,and turn them into living areas.We love the idea of bringing in people to the downtown core and attractingMillennials who seem to love to live downtown.Andwe have had quite of fewof those buildings turned around like that. “We’ve also taken an oldwater warehouse,ametal storage building,and gave it to our farmersmarket in town that used tomeet in a parking lot.Nowthey have a huge,vibrant,indoor facility that is just the hub of activities on Saturdays.Theyhavemusic; theyhave food; theyhave produce; theyhave flowers.I mean,it’s just incredible.Somuch so,that we’re enlarging it. “We have bought the old post office building that was built in 1909 and are in the process of restoring it back to its original grandeur andmaking that into an art gallery,right across fromwhat we call our Dixie Center for theArts.We tookan old diesel gen- erating plant andwe are turning it into apartments. All of our focus is geared to downtown. “I think the biggest thing is that we’re growing andwewant newbusinesses and companies to come here,”Walker concludes,“We are totallyopen for business.We are going after business.Wewant them.Everybody I meet that says theyused to live in Ruston,I always tell them theycan come home. We want people to come back to Ruston- and bring their businesses with them!”