Grier Clark, who recently bought a home near the site, said the overgrown lots were a constant eyesore when she was a kid, prompting her family to pay to have them cleared in hopes of discouraging illegal dumping.
The lots were later fenced off and maintained by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society but remained undeveloped until now, she said.
“To now be able to look out of the house right now and see the structure of these new homes go up, it is like night and day. My family is extremely elated. We’re so happy that this is coming and we’re happy that we finally have new neighbors across the street. And we’re excited to welcome more people to the community,” Clark said before Monday’s ceremony.
Turn the Key launched more than four years ago as part of the Neighborhood Preservation Initiative, a $400 million plan initiated by former Council President Darrell Clarke to increase the city’s stock of affordable housing, revive commercial corridors, and improve neighborhood infrastructure.
The program is now a sizable piece of the Housing Opportunities Made Easy initiative, the Parker administration’s $2 billion plan to build and preserve 30,000 homes citywide. The mayor has vowed to put the program “on steroids” under the initiative, commonly referred to as H.O.M.E.