Is new housing development needed?

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - All it takes is a quick glance to see this stretch of Germantown Street between Williams and Broadway isn't someplace you'd want to hang around for five minutes much less live there for years.

"I'd love to see if they could tear a lot of these down," says Marion Greene, who bikes passed the area. "It brings the neighborhood down."

Soon developers hope weeds won't be the only things taking root there.

They plan to build a $12.5 million housing development called Germantown Village.

It will provide 60 apartments at rents between $550 and $900 a month.

"It's a site that's been blighted and it's not seeing strong property values so we hope to come in and really give a boost to this community," says Scott Puffer with The Michaels Organization.

Dayton City Commissioners approved using $550,000 in federal funding for the development.

2 NEWS wanted to know if these units are necessary in a city with 7,000 to 10,000 vacant homes.

"There's a huge demand for affordable housing," Puffer said in response to our question. "This is a tough economy for a lot of people."

Residents we talked with also seemed to think finding a good rental at a low price is difficult.

"We need more affordable rent for people around here," says resident Daryl McMahon.

2 NEWS also pressed developers about the safety of the new rentals because some believe lower rent housing complexes invite crime.

In response developers tell us they think the area is more of a safety risk now with all the vacant properties.

They believe the development's layout will help, giving everyone a front door that opens to the street.

"With the design that faces the streets and doesn't internalize everyone, we hope that fosters a larger sense of community where people see what's going on in their neighborhoods," Puffer says.

Developers plan to start on the project in the next 30 days and finish it by the end of 2013.