06:01 PM PST on Friday, January 14, 2005

By CATHY KIYOMURA / KING 5 News

SEATTLE - A new neighborhood in South Seattle is located at the intersection of progress and promise. It’s a once-overlooked area that is attracting potential homebuyers.

KING

There will be 180 new homes like this one for sale.

People started lining up Thursday at Othello Station, phase 3 of the New Holly redevelopment project. The first of 10 homes, out of a total of 180, will hit the market Saturday.

Backers say all the new home construction is proof that Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Othello is no longer a neglected corner of the city.

The homes start at $267,000 for a three-bedroom, 2 ½ 1,270 square-foot home.

“It's a grand new community that hasn't seen new construction for a while,” said Jon Krull of Polygon Northwest. “You won't find prices we have.”

In the big redevelopment, involving the Seattle Housing authority and different builders, homes range from $267,000 to over $400,000.

Othello Station is named after the light-rail stop located just 15 minutes from downtown Seattle.

Last June, at a Sound Transit groundbreaking, big changes were promised for Seattle's Rainier Valley. With this new, mixed income housing development backers say that promise is being fulfilled.