Matt Mosler launched Home Again Pine Bluff several years ago with a mission to revitalize the city block by block and empower low-income residents with the opportunity to own homes. As the pastor of New Life Church in Pine Bluff, Mosler actively contributes to and observes the ongoing rejuvenation of the community.
According to Mosler, Pine Bluff is a key connection between the Mississippi Delta Region and the broader Arkansas area. Historically, the Delta served as an economic powerhouse centered around agriculture, with Pine Bluff at its heart. Consequently, people from the Delta and southeast Arkansas were drawn to Pine Bluff for its vibrant commerce and entertainment options.
However, as the region experienced a decline, Pine Bluff followed suit. Mosler contends that revitalizing Pine Bluff is essential for the revival of southeast Arkansas.
“As Pine Bluff goes, so goes the Delta,”
— Matt Mosler, Founder of Home Again Pine Bluff
Partners We Center/We Build and Communities Unlimited (CU) share a common vision for revitalizing Pine Bluff through the DreamBuild model. Their ultimate goal is to restore Pine Bluff to its former glory by introducing innovative volumetric modular housing solutions to its neighborhoods.
In the second week of May, We Build began construction on its first house on W 13th & 14th Street in Ward 3 of Pine Bluff. The nonprofit aims to build five to seven homes, effectively revitalizing the entire block.
The organization plans to replicate this model across Pine Bluff’s other three wards to stimulate community development throughout the city.
Codney Washington, founder of We Center/We Build, asserts that building a better Pine Bluff hinges on teamwork and a unified vision. He highlights the critical role of collaborating with other organizations and individuals to drive positive change in the community.
“It truly takes a village and it takes a community working together,” Washington said.
“I’m excited about what the future holds for this community. Hopefully five years from now, we’ll look back on where we are now and reflect on it in a new Pine Bluff.”
— Codney Washington, founder of We Center/We Build
After the homes are constructed, CU will offer housing counseling, education for first-time buyers, and ongoing support for new homeowners. These services will be available in low-income and ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) areas of Pine Bluff. The project is funded by the WORTH (Wealth Opportunities Realized through Homeownership) Grant from Wells Fargo.
CU’s Area Director of Housing, Audra Butler, aims to revive downtown Pine Bluff neighborhoods that were previously thriving areas for lower-middle-class families.
Butler emphasizes the need to build safe, affordable homes where families can prosper and maintain cost-effectiveness over time. This CU project is just the beginning of more initiatives to come for the organization.
Butler mentions that the next step is to expand the organization’s work from Pine Bluff to other Delta communities that are experiencing similar shortages of resources, especially those in deeper rural areas with more persistent poverty.
“Our focus is to get our feet on the ground in Pine Bluff and then we can start expanding the reach of WeBuild to other communities in the Delta. We are super excited about the future.”
— Audra Butler, CU’s Area Director of Housing
WeBuild’s marketing director, Evan Jones, highlights the importance of city officials’ support for their efforts. He notes that while their company has undertaken a major project, having the backing of the city is essential.
Their current goal is to collaborate with the Ward 3 alderman to create homeowner associations and secure city support for their projects. However, they are facing difficulties in contacting some of the property owners of the lots where WeBuild intends to build.
Despite challenges, he is optimistic, particularly because of the new alderman’s readiness to collaborate.
“With the whole city being involved, that’s a big piece of the puzzle,” Jones said. “If we show them what we’re trying to do, show them that we’re serious, that we are from the city, and that we want to help the city, we can make a big impact.”
Mosler humorously noted that a Chick-fil-A opening would mark the community’s revival, a goal that was recently met. Fittingly, this was also a topic in his first sermon at New Life back in 2017.
“I said, ‘You’ll know God is in this mission’ when we get a Chick-fil-A in Pine Bluff,” Mosler said. “I said, ‘There’s no way we’re getting a Chick-fil-A in Pine Bluff.’ Now we’ve got a Chick-fil-A in Pine Bluff.”
Mosler notes Pine Bluff’s key location on major highways and hopes its revival will spread outward.
“As you revive this community, hopefully, it’s like this electric current that gets the ability to be transmitted back out to the Delta.”
Mosler acknowledges that Pine Bluff is still facing challenges and describes it as a broken community. However, he also points out the strong unity among residents, calling it the most cohesive community he’s experienced. He highlights the deep commitment of those who remain to improving the city, focusing on inclusivity and solidarity across racial lines.
“These are our people,” Mosler said. “This is our city.”
