In the 2200 block of Catalina Avenue, a future for dozens of low-income households will rise from a blighted property where not too long ago, an empty pool was being used as storage.
On Thursday, city officials celebrated the start of demolition and, soon, rebuilding of an affordable housing project that will replace blight with 20 brand-new apartments for people who otherwise could not afford them.
It’s a redevelopment-funded scenario of killing two birds with one stone: Get rid of the old, drag-on-property-values building and replace with a new development that, hopefully, will spark a larger revitalization throughout the neighborhood.