WESTERLY - It's been a long time, roughly 70 years, since Carmela DeGroff moved out of her grandparents' Pierce Street home. On Saturday, she came back to see what it had become.

"I think it's very nice," she said of the affordable condominiums being built inside the century-old home she lived in until she was 9 years old. She noted the original curved windows facing the street from the third floor, the same building trim she remembered from her youth, and the wall built with slabs from her uncle's quarry.

What's nice, too, is that the building is part of the North Glen Condominium complex, a project that holds the promise of homeownership for people who have been priced out of the market elsewhere.

The 10-unit complex, which is still under construction, was open to the public Saturday. The project is a group of buildings, each containing a few two- or three-bedroom townhouses, surrounding a common area that will become a landscaped parking lot. Potential buyers were able to stop by and view the units on Saturday, as well as learn about eligibility requirements.

The two two-bedroom condos will be priced at $125,000 each, and each of the eight three-bedroom units will sell for $130,000. Geoffrey A. Marchant, director of the community development consortium, said the Washington County Community Development Corp., the project's developer, is hoping to find down payment assistance for buyers. With all fees combined, Marchant estimated that buyers will pay about $800 to $900 a month. He noted that many people pay more than that for rent.

The project took about 10 years to come to fruition, said Marchant. It's the latest improvement in a neighborhood that was once spiraling into decay but is now a charming, old-fashioned district dotted with front porches and gingerbread trim on postage stamp-size lots.

"This neighborhood's come a long, long way," said Jeffrey A. Gofton, interim director of the Washington County Community Development Corp. Although he credited the active North End Crime Watch & Community Development for beginning the turnaround, he said the real driver was the residents.

"It's the spirit and the dedication of the neighborhood," he said.

The complex, which sits next to and behind the North End police substation, is near another fairly new project, a Habitat for Humanity townhouse. Across the street from the condominiums is Bushel Sposato Park, a former trash-filled hole converted to a green space where children can play.

Marchant said he expects the project to be "substantially completed" by December, with the landscaping to wait until springtime. For more information on North Glen Condominiums, located at 72-74-76 Pierce St., contact the Washington County Community Development Corp. at (401) 788-0090.

lrovetti@thewesterlysun.com