Living in The Heights, Little Rock: A Local Guide

The short version: The Heights is Little Rock’s original streetcar suburb — pre-war Tudor, Craftsman and Colonial Revival homes on a tree-lined grid north of Cantrell Road, centered on the Kavanaugh Boulevard shops and the Country Club of Little Rock. It began in 1891 as half of the planned suburb of Pulaski Heights. The homes are old (median build year 1941) and prices are premium: Homes.com puts the median sale price at $655,000 (trailing 12 months, fetched October 2026). There is no mandatory HOA. The one thing buyers get wrong is schools — the elementary assignment splits by exact address. All of it below, with sources.

One suburb, two neighborhoods: the Pulaski Heights story

In 1891, Michigan investors organized as the Pulaski Heights Land Company — led by attorneys H. F. Auten and Edgar Moss, who had moved to Little Rock from St. Johns, Michigan in 1890 — bought 800 acres of highland northwest of the city for $80,000. The first ten blocks were platted in 1892, but growth was slow until 1903, when an electric streetcar line reached the suburb up Prospect Avenue, today’s Kavanaugh Boulevard. Pulaski Heights incorporated on August 1, 1905. Some references give 1903, but that is the streetcar year — the Encyclopedia of Arkansas and the neighborhood’s own 2009 historical marker both date the incorporation to 1905. On January 4, 1916, Little Rock voters approved annexation by a ten-to-one margin, and Pulaski Heights became the city’s Ninth Ward.

Today Cantrell Road divides the old suburb in two: The Heights to the north, Hillcrest to the south, with Kavanaugh Boulevard winding through both along the defunct streetcar route. The two share the origin story and much of the housing stock — the southern half gets its own guide to living in Hillcrest.

Sources: Encyclopedia of Arkansas — Pulaski Heights · Hillcrest Historic District context, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program · Historical Marker Database — “The Heights • A History”

The homes: built before the war, renovated ever since

The housing stock is the draw: about 1,963 homes with a median year built of 1941, the average single-family home running 3,535 square feet on a median lot of 8,712 square feet (Homes.com). The styles are the pre-war revival catalogue — Tudor, Georgian Revival, Craftsman and Colonial Revival, often on the same block. Renovation is constant, and some older homes come down for rebuilds designed to blend with the vintage aesthetic.

On price, Homes.com (trailing 12 months, fetched October 18, 2026) puts the median sale at $655,000, the single-family median at $695,029 and the average at $268 per square foot across 86 sales. Homes.com is the only major portal publishing a Heights-specific median, so treat the figures as the best available read, dated. The full tables — list prices, days on market, the tax worked example, school assignments — are on The Heights real estate fact page.

Pricing is street-by-street: a renovated Tudor and an untouched one on the same block are different markets, which is why the verified local expert matters more than the portal estimate. Ashley Watters, who holds the verified Heights seat on Neighborhood Registry, is introduced below.

Sources: Homes.com — Heights neighborhood · Homes.com — Heights local guide

Kavanaugh Boulevard: the village

Kavanaugh is the main street — boutiques and restaurants along the old streetcar route. Homes.com’s local guide names Mugs Cafe, Heights Taco & Tamale and Zaza among the restaurants and Bella Boutique, WordsWorth Books and Gallery 26 among the shops; the corridor also holds a Kroger, a post office and banks. Arkansas Business has described the 5000 block as “the oldest surviving retail area in Little Rock,” with retail roots to a 1927 start for Smith’s Country Club Drug Store. At 5600 Kavanaugh stood the Heights Theater, the neighborhood movie house from 1946 to 1985 — about 850 seats, twinned later in its life — closed and converted to a retail store. The calendar runs on Handmade in the Heights in April and the Westover Hills Farmers Market from May through September.

Sources: Homes.com — Heights local guide · Arkansas Business, “Going to new Heights” · Cinema Treasures — theater index

Forest Park: the amusement park at the end of the line

Before the western Heights was housing, it was Forest Park — a 40-acre amusement park the streetcar company opened in 1904 at the end of its line, inside a 160-acre leased tract: swimming pool and bathhouse, dance pavilion, merry-go-round, horse racing track, built to give the cars weekend riders. It closed in 1919, but the stone entrance columns and wall still stand at Kavanaugh and N. Pierce — the neighborhood’s most tangible streetcar relic.

Today’s green space is quieter. Prospect Terrace Park, off Kavanaugh at “L” Street on the south edge, has a play set and picnic pavilion. Allsopp Park, just south across Cantrell (dedicated 1931, named for Frederick Allsopp), offers tennis, basketball, a softball field and mountain-bike trails — Soirée counts 150 acres, the city master plan more than 50 — with a trail entrance on Kavanaugh at Crestwood. Knoop Park in Hillcrest has held Little Rock Water Works on its promontory since 1886 and overlooks downtown and the river. North across the bluff sit Rebsamen and Murray parks, linked by the Arkansas River Trail.

Sources: Encyclopedia of Arkansas — Forest Park · Little Rock Soirée, “A Century of Growth”

The Country Club of Little Rock

The club predates the town: founded in 1902 at the neighborhood’s eastern edge, overlooking the downtown skyline and the Arkansas River valley, with a streetcar route and a road carved up the hill to reach it. Soirée describes it as the oldest country club west of the Mississippi. The course runs 18 holes at par 70, up to 6,454 yards — designed by Herman Hackbarth, redesigned by Tom Clark and Edmund B. Ault in 1980. It is private, for members and their guests only. A $20 million facility completed in 2022 added a fitness center, a coffee shop and bakery and a youth and family center, alongside 8 hard and 7 clay tennis courts, 4 pickleball courts and a resort-style pool pavilion.

Sources: ForeTee — Country Club of Little Rock · Arkansas State Golf Association — charter club profile · Little Rock Soirée, “A Century of Growth”

Schools: one district, two elementaries — check the address

All of The Heights is in the Little Rock School District, feeding Pulaski Heights Middle School and Little Rock Central High School. The split is at the elementary level, by exact address:

• North side (the 72207 side): Forest Park Elementary (PK–5), on N. Tyler Street → Pulaski Heights Middle → Central High.
• Southern part of the neighborhood: Jefferson Elementary (K–5) → Pulaski Heights Middle → Central High.

Homes.com lists Central (Niche grade A) and Forest Park (A−) as the top public schools serving the Heights. Confirm any individual address in LRSD’s school-search tool before relying on an assignment — and note that LRSD redrew its high-school zones in 2026 ahead of Little Rock West High School’s opening in fall 2027, so high-school zoning deserves a fresh check at purchase time. Private options sit at the edges: Mount St. Mary Academy (founded 1851; on Kavanaugh in Hillcrest, just across Cantrell, since 1908) and Catholic High School for Boys (founded 1930; just across University Avenue). The Anthony School also serves Heights families. On N. Tyler Street, the St. John Catholic Center — the former St. John’s Seminary campus (1916–1967) — is now the Diocese of Little Rock’s headquarters.

Sources: SchoolDigger — Forest Park Elementary · Homes.com — Heights neighborhood · Little Rock Soirée, “A Century of Growth”

Costs: property taxes, and the HOA that isn’t

Property taxes first: The Heights sits in the Little Rock School District tax area at a total of 70.10 mills. Arkansas assesses homes at 20% of market value, so the effective rate is about 1.40% — roughly $9,183 a year on a home at the $655,000 median. The worked example is on the fact page.

Then the HOA question, stated plainly: The Heights has no mandatory HOA. There is no neighborhood-wide association with dues — this is a pre-war streetcar suburb of individual plats, not a master-planned subdivision. The Heights Neighborhood Association is a voluntary 501(c)(4) civic association doing beautification work — tree planting, banners, flowers, safety lighting — and it erected the neighborhood’s 2009 history marker. It publishes no dues figure, and membership is voluntary. Only individual condominium and townhome complexes carry their own dues, and those are property-specific.

Sources: Cause IQ — Little Rock homeowner and tenant associations directory · Historical Marker Database — “The Heights • A History”

Who The Heights fits — and who it doesn’t

Fits: buyers who want pre-war character and mature trees over new construction; people who will use a walkable village main street; UAMS staff (about 1.7 miles straight-line from the Kavanaugh core) and downtown commuters (about 4.3 miles straight-line, with Cantrell Road the direct drive in and the airport a 10-mile drive, per Homes.com).

Doesn’t fit: buyers who need a brand-new house or a large lot — median build year 1941, median lot 8,712 square feet — without a renovation budget. It doesn’t fit buyers who want one guaranteed school answer without checking an exact address, or anyone budgeting near the Little Rock median: at $655,000, this is a premium market. And anyone expecting master-planned amenities run by an association will not find them — the amenity here is the neighborhood itself, plus a private club that predates it.

The verified local expert for The Heights

Neighborhood Registry verifies one realtor per neighborhood against the state license record. For The Heights, that realtor is Ashley Watters of eXp Realty — an eXp ICON Agent holding ABR® and MRP® designations, and the independently verified real estate agent for The Heights in Little Rock. Her Arkansas license was checked directly against the Arkansas Real Estate Commission (AREC) public record — here’s how license verification works. Her Registry profile carries her Heights service details, and the The Heights neighborhood page tracks the seat and the rest of the verified team for the area — part of the Registry’s Little Rock coverage.

Frequently asked questions

How much do homes cost in The Heights?

Homes.com’s neighborhood data (trailing 12 months, fetched October 18, 2026) puts the median sale price at $655,000 and the median single-family sale price at $695,029, at an average of $268 per square foot across 86 sales. Homes.com is the only major portal publishing a Heights-specific median.

Which schools serve The Heights?

The Heights is entirely in the Little Rock School District. Elementary assignment splits by exact address: Forest Park Elementary on the north side and Jefferson Elementary in the southern part, both feeding Pulaski Heights Middle School and then Little Rock Central High School. Confirm the specific address with LRSD before buying.

Does The Heights have an HOA?

No mandatory one. There is no neighborhood-wide HOA or POA with dues in The Heights. The Heights Neighborhood Association is a voluntary civic association focused on beautification; it publishes no dues figure. Individual condo and townhome complexes have their own associations.

What is the difference between The Heights and Hillcrest?

They are two halves of one historic suburb. Both began as Pulaski Heights — bought in 1891, incorporated August 1, 1905 and annexed by Little Rock in 1916. Cantrell Road divides them today: The Heights is north of Cantrell, Hillcrest is south, and Kavanaugh Boulevard winds through both.

Who is the verified realtor for The Heights?

Ashley Watters of eXp Realty — an eXp ICON Agent (ABR®, MRP®) — holds the verified realtor seat for The Heights on Neighborhood Registry; her license was checked directly against the Arkansas Real Estate Commission’s public record.