The Arkansas Economic Development Institute at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will soon team up with the University of Arkansas Community Design Center to lay the groundwork for the revitalization of downtown Pine Bluff.

The “Go Forward Pine Bluff” project was devised as a blueprint to address challenges faced by the city, such as high unemployment rates and population decline. The initiative’s ultimate goal is to make Pine Bluff a place its residents are proud to call home.

Stephen Luoni, director of the Community Design Center, will work with his team to compose a master plan to put the project in motion. The plan will include baseline drawings of existing conditions, downtown development proposals, master street and landscape arrangements, and the final report.

Before the plan is constructed, Luoni and his team will spend the next few weeks evaluating the status of downtown properties to identify buildings that have been condemned and abandoned, or have potential for redevelopment.

The Arkansas Economic Development Institute will provide logistical assistance to Luoni and his team by mapping each property downtown using the institute’s geographic information system laboratory. This resource will allow members of the institute to identify the owner of each property, along with the property’s occupational and zoning status.

“Outside the immediate downtown district, there will be other areas identified as the planning process moves on that they’ll need that information,” said Jim Youngquist, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Institute. “We’ll be providing the Community Design Center parcel and infrastructure information as they do their plan.”