Piper Andrews grew up in a NE D.C. neighborhood. And after a long hiatus, she's back. She says she wanted to

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She's trying to build a new life in one of 63 new affordable homes in Deanwoods Heights.

"It's very important to me to own a home,” Andrews says. “I'm trying to set an example for my daughter who's in college and my son."

A public-private partnership made the Eden Place at Beulah Crossing Development possible. Now dozens of pastel colored town homes line the block of Eastern Avenue.

"We're trying to make this side of the city look like every other side of the city and I think that's wonderful," says D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown.

What was once a dilapidated structure is now a multiunit development in northeast. And residents here say just seeing the change is a catalyst for revitalization.

Developer Ray Nix says it's a crucial building block.

"The only way you change a community is through transformation with critical mass," says Nix of Managing Partner, UrbanMatters Development Partners LLC.

For Andrews, it's a chance to build a future.

"Just to have your own piece of America is important,” Andrews says.