Federal Grant To Revitalize San Francisco Housing Project

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – One of San Francisco's most blighted housing projects has been awarded a $30.5 million federal revitalization grant.

The Alice Griffith housing development includes the rebuilding of 256 townhouse-style buildings. It is part of the Hunters Point Shipyard redevelopment project, which was approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors last month.

The grant was awarded on Wednesday by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's Ophelia Basgal, who said it will allow the project to move forward and possibly start within two years.

KCBS' Anna Duckworth Reports:

"This is an important moment for this Eastern Bayview community. We all know the challenges that this neighborhood has faced for decades," Basgal said. "Disinvestment, troubled schools, troubled housing and little economic opportunity."

San Francisco was one of four cities chosen by HUD out of 42 applicants for the Choice Neighborhood Funding program.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, who was on hand for the announcement, said that it's been a long, complicated road for the project, but Wednesday's announcement offers a ray of hope for the area.

"When we rebuild Alice Griffith, it's not a physical rebuilding," Lee said. "It's a community rebuilding with everybody."

The plan calls for current residents not to be moved out of existing homes until their new units are ready.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)