INDIANAPOLIS - The site of a long-vacant hospital on Indianapolis' near-north side will soon see new life.

City leaders helped break ground Tuesday on Illinois Place, which will include affordable townhome-type apartments, retail and two acres of green space near 33rd and Illinois streets.

"This public-private partnership will provide homes, open space for recreation and possible commercial opportunities, all of which will breathe new life into this area and strengthen our community," Mayor Greg Ballard said in a news release. "This former hospital site, where I used to work, was a place for healing, so it is fitting we were able to come together to revitalize this neighborhood to benefit our residents in so many positive ways."

After Winona Hospital abruptly closed in 2004, the sprawling building sat vacant, full of abandoned medical equipment and asbestos, becoming a haven for vandalism and other crime.

City, state and federal grants for low-income housing funded the demolition of the building and will help build the $6.6 million housing development.

"It has always been a beautiful neighborhood, so we're going to try to recreate or reinvigorate what we had before," said Betty Giles with the Crown Hill Neighborhood Association.

"It's one thing to live in an area, but it is another thing to be proud of where you live," said neighbor Cordelia Lewis Burks. "I live a half a block over, where I have lived since 1962."

Rents will range from $525 to $700 a month. The Whitsett Group will manage the property and select 50 families to move in based on income.