The City of Newburgh took another step forward Thursday toward re-developing distressed properties in the city.  Time Warner Cable News reporter Jackson Wang takes a look at the city's newest revitalized apartment building. 

NEWBURGH, N.Y. -- Ten years ago, 197 Landers Street turned heads for the wrong reasons.

“This building is a perfect example of the resurrection of a completely dark building that was drug infested with everything under the sun that wasn’t good,” said Newburgh Mayor Judy Kennedy.

“It had been empty for more than 10 years. It was full of trash, it was full of debris, it was in very poor condition,” said Madeline Fletcher, Newburgh Community Land Bank executive director.

But that's in the past now. 

“People put a lot of sweat, tears into the building. It was a tough project,” said building owner Joshua Mousseau.  

Local officials and residents gathered at the site Thursday to mark the official grand opening of the building. 

The property will be home to eight brand new apartment units. 

“They’re affordable housing for workforce people in the city. People who can afford to pay rent, but not market rent,” Mousseau said. 

The building was actually one of the first buildings the community land bank sold to a developer. And that organization, created a few years ago was aimed to do just that, revitalized old abandoned and vacant buildings. 

“The city needed it to the land bank, and the land bank then took this and partnered with the developers,” Kennedy said. 

“This was the first project that was completed by one of our purchasers so we’re really thrilled,” Fletcher said.  

Many in the city are hoping this trend will continue. 

“So we need to keep working on our neighborhoods, stabilizing, and taking away the places where they do drugs and crime. And that starts to stabilize the whole area,” Kennedy said.  

“I am a resident in the city of Newburgh, so every building that’s back on the tax map is a good thing for any resident,” Mousseau said.