New London — HOPE Inc. will be holding an open house at noon Friday for its latest rehabilitation project, 63 Belden St., that will show off the work done on a two-family home just listed for $145,000.

The project is just one of 16 that Housing Opportunities for People has completed on Belden Street in what had been one of the city's most down-and-out neighborhoods. 

The nonprofit has three more affordable-housing projects planned on the street, including the construction of a new home on a vacant lot.

"We put a lot of money into a house upfront," said Marilyn Graham, executive director of HOPE, during a tour of the home Wednesday.

The organization put $268,000 into renovating the three-bedroom home that is listed as an 1893 Victorian farmhouse with Queen Anne-style features, and that doesn't count the $45,199 price paid to US Bank NA to buy the property.

The project, along with two others, is being funded by a $500,000 tax credit from Eversource, bringing to $4.7 million the amount the company has donated to HOPE through the years.

David Smith, owner of Dependable Contracting, said renovations to the 1,870-square-foot home were delayed by all the junk left on the property after it went into foreclosure and squatters took over.

He said he had to take away six dumpsters full of discarded items, including drug paraphernalia, before renovations could begin.

"It was a mess," he said.

"It was vacant," Graham said. "People came in and partied here."

But all that is a distant memory now that the home has been restored, and the kitchens upstairs and down sparkle with brand-new granite counters, appliances and white cabinets designed by General Woodcraft.

The upstairs kitchen also features a good-size pantry area and a coat closet.

"If you're going to make an investment in a kitchen, people will want to be in there," Graham said.

The bedrooms — two upstairs and one down — are fully carpeted, though much of the home has hardwood floors.

"We tried to save the hardwood floors as much as we can," Graham said.

Graham said they also tried to save as many interesting architectural features as possible, including an arched door in the entryway that regained its luster thanks partly to a new coat of paint.

Not much is known about the history of the building, except that its original owner was William L. Roe, a local carpenter.

The home is available to a family of four earning no more than $87,000.

But the apartment must be rented to someone of very low income compared with the region's median, which would amount to somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000 annually, Graham said.

The home includes a one-car garage, new bathrooms, updated windows and wiring, and it is fully abated of lead and asbestos, Graham said.

One of the nicer features of the home is its long front porch that invites homeowners to dine outside.

"All of these porches on Belden Street get good breezes," Graham said.

l.howard@theday.com