YOUNGSTOWN — In a matter of months, several new homes will fill a small street on the South Side. The move promises to also build greater community cohesion, collaboration and connectivity, a city official says.

“We’re able to rebuild, to bring community back to the city,” Councilman Julius Oliver, D-1st Ward, said. “It’s a great day.”

He was referring to six new single-family dwellings that are being constructed on Mineral Springs Avenue, once the site of blight and vacant structures — and symbolic of the city’s decline.

Oliver also was among those who spoke during a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday morning to celebrate the project, which is a collaborative effort between the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, the Mahoning County Land Bank and other partners. The work was made possible via a grant from the Ohio Department of Development’s Welcome Home Ohio program.

Each of the six 1,475-square-foot residences will have three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, a first-floor laundry room, open-concept kitchen, living and dining spaces, a detached two-car garage and a front porch. Three homes will be built on each side of the street, which is in the shadow of Mill Creek Park and the Youngstown Playhouse.

The top sales price will be $180,000 and will include a 100%, 15-year property tax abatement on the new construction. In addition, eligible homebuyers will be able to receive down payment assistance, courtesy of the city’s At Home in Youngstown assistance program.

Only 20 new housing units have been built in the city during the last 15 years, which magnifies the importance of the six new residences that will further contribute to the area’s vibrancy and sense of community, Deb Flora, the land bank’s executive director, said.

Also, six additional homes in Youngstown will be targeted for renovations next year, Flora added.

“To say it has been a long time coming is a bit of an understatement,” said Ian Beniston, YNDC’s executive director, who recalled that in 2008, the street was filled with blight and empty houses.

The six residences will represent more than mere places for families to call home — they also will symbolize buying into neighborhood and city progress, Beniston added.

“It’s a special way to put the bow on the end of my first term,” state Rep. Lauren McNally, D-Youngstown, said, adding that the project will add to progress being made in the city.

Other partners and supporters include the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber; Farmers National Bank, which is providing construction financing; and Joe Koch Construction Inc., the project’s builder. Further support is coming from city officials, the Raymond J. Wean Foundation and the Glenwood Neighbors Business Association.