Westerly — It wasn't so long ago that the property at 54-58 Pierce St. was nothing more than an eyesore in the neighborhood. The original house that sits on the land was in major disrepair, nearing the point of needing to be torn down.

Now, the property is the site of a housing development project by Operation Stand Down Rhode Island, which helps homeless and low-income veterans secure stable housing, among other assistance. The development will be open to "any eligible veteran" who meets the income threshold requirements, said Erik Wallin, the OSDRI executive director.

Wallin, who previously worked as a prosecutor with the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General, said, "This house used to be a crack house, and a house where they had prostitution issues. I can remember, six, seven years ago, when I was working as a prosecutor in the AG's office. I can remember this address."

The housing development features three separate buildings: the original two-story house, now refurbished, with six single units; a new, one-story building with three handicapped-accessible family units; and a new, two-story building that includes one family unit above what will eventually be a veterans service center, which will be accessible to not only future residents, but also veterans throughout the area.

The income threshold that veterans have to meet in order to live here is based on federal government standards; single individuals with no dependents, for instance, would have to make $24,500 or less annually to qualify.

The rent a veteran would pay is based on his or her salary, and unemployed veterans would not be disqualified.

Connecticut currently has 295 homeless veterans, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's point-in-time estimate of homelessness for the state in 2014. Of those, 221 are considered sheltered and 74 are unsheltered.

Up to 28 veterans and their families could be housed on the Pierce Street property.

"There's a huge demand for family units for veterans," Wallin said. "And that's really been something that our organization has struggled with because when we first started 21 years ago, the face of a veteran who was homeless was typically an older, single Vietnam-era veteran."

The veterans service center will provide employment and training opportunities, and through the center, OSDRI will be able to assist homeless veterans in Connecticut or Rhode Island by paying their security deposit and up to five months of rent. The organization can also pay back rent on behalf of low-income veterans in the area.

"For those folks who do end up in that situation, there's other things that we can do," Wallin said. "We can help them relocate from a more expensive living situation to a less expensive one, budgeting assistance, food."

Funding for the more than $2 million development project came from HUD,the Rhode Island Housing bond, a voter referendum passed in 2012,and from fundraising by OSDRI. The funding includes renovations to the property, the relocation of residents who were living there, and supporting the project long-term over the next 20 years. The rehab costs alone were in the realm of $1 million, Wallin said.

OSDRI did not do it alone. More than 40 volunteers from Home Depot in Westerly lent a hand during the past week, as part of the company's Celebration of Service initiative, which runs from Sept. 11 to Veterans Day. The Westerly store donated $20,000 worth of materials for the project in addition to logging volunteer hours. The apartments will all be furnished courtesy of Cardi's Furniture in Westerly, and AT&T is helping to fund the operation of the service center.

While OSDRI has not yet begun to accept housing applications, Wallin said he hopes the group will start to move people in at the beginning of December.

Those interested in applying can call (401) 383-4730 or visit osdri.org.

j.bergman@theday.com

Twitter: JuliaSBergman