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Not long ago, if you drove down Ames Boulevard in Marrero toward the river, you ran into a complex of dilapidated buildings, the shells of burned out apartments and torched cars. Villa D'Ames, at Fourth Street and Ames Boulevard, was known more for homicides, the drug trade, prostitution and turf wars than for its medal-winnning Marrero Lightning United Track Club or its adult literacy programs. Residents lived in fear. Just ask Pastor Sterling Mealancon of the neighboring Progressive Church at Fourth and Cohen streets, whose congregation has waged its own 13-year battle to take back the community. When he first became pastor, the area was rife with crime and blight. "We came in and started buying up some of the blighted property and tearing down crack houses, " Mealancon said. "I also found illiteracy, many single parents who had desires but didn't know how to pull their lives together. They had children in school, but didn't know how to help them excel." So the church went on a mission to clean up the neighborhood. It raised money to buy dilapidated property and land wrought with environmental issues. That work inspired a new attitude in the community. Mealancon created a civic group called the Rebirth Community Action Association, which faces off with elected and law enforcement officials about crime, blight and quality of life issues. The church also bought and cleaned up an 18-acre Brownsfield Program site last year, where it will build a $6 million Family Life Center. That facility will house a worship center, classrooms, meeting rooms, a fitness center, a cafeteria and other amenities. But the arrival of the $22 million St. Bakhita Apartments erected on the land of the former Villa D'Ames gave an even bigger boost to Progressive Church's efforts. St. Bakhita, developed by Providence Community Housing, Enterprise Community Investment and CLB Porter, is a village of 100 two- and three-bedroom townhomes for low and moderate-income families, who pay rents from $403 to $861 per month. The nonprofit Providence was founded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to address the vast need for affordable housing. Spokeswoman Andreanica Morris said it took 40 days to lease the entire community. "We knew there was a need for multi-family housing on the West Bank, " she said. Leasing all 100 apartments so quickly "demonstrates the need for quality affordable housing." Mealancon praised the developers' involvement with the neighborhood civic group, saying that they met with them and heard their concerns in an effort to make sure that St. Bakhita doesn't return to the old ways of Villa D'Ames. "I see it as a great asset, us working together with management and the developers to make our whole community better, " Mealancon said. "It will take all of us working together. As a community, we can be a model of how things can change and things can become better." Morris said developer Shawn Barney made sure that St. Bakhita's players made the "right connections" and communicated with residents that they weren't "going to build it and walk away." "We're engaging with the community to ensure that we serve the people, " she said. So today, on the grounds of the old Villa D'Ames, where hope hovered between life and death, hope is alive and prospering. "I see a whole new light coming to this community, " Mealancon said. "If people can see better, they will believe better." . . . . . . . Andrea Shaw is West Bank bureau chief. She can be reached at ashaw@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3780.

SUSAN POAG/THE TIMES-PICAYUNE Father Otis Young, pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Church,(in foreground) Rev. Michael Jacquest, chairman of the board of directors of providence Community Housing and Pastor Sterling Mealancon(cq) of Progressive Church give a blessing during a grand opening ceremony for St. Bakhita Apartments in Marrero Friday, May 15, 2009 to celebrate the completion of the 100 new townhomes that incorporate green design strategies. The complex was made possible through the transfer of Pre-Katrina tax credits that had been dedicated to another project and were transferred after Katrina.The project was developed by Providence Community Housing and CLB Porter LLC. St. Josephine Bakhita was a Catholic saint of Sudanese decent whose name means 'fortunate one.' The complex is located on the site of the former Villa D'Ames.

Ribbon-cutting for Progressive's center --- Progressive Church in Marrero will cut the ribbon on its new multi-purpose center on Saturday. The event begins at 10 a.m. at the center on 6535 4th St. Spokeswoman Renee Washington said that the church converted its former thrift store, which suffered heavy damage during Hurricane Katrina, into a facility where people could go and socialize and hold meetings. The remodeling work on the multi-purpose center began in November. Progressive Church, 437 Cohen St., is led by Pastor Sterling Mealancon. For information, call (504) 347-0270. --- Mount Hermon Baptist activities --- Mount Hermon Baptist Church, 3512 U.S. 90 West, Avondale, has announced its schedule of upcoming activities. -- Sunday worship is at 7 and 9 a.m. Sunday school is at 8 a.m. On Tuesdays, Bible study is at noon and Word Explosion Bible Study is at 6:45 p.m. Family Fellowship and Prayer is at 5 p.m. -- Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. is the Seafood Boil and Fish Fry, Youth Ministry Book Fair and Health Fair. -- Sunday at 3 p.m. is the Spring Fellowship Musical. All choirs, male choruses and praise teams are invited to attend. Call the church Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at (504) 436-8062 or call Music Pastor Eugene Eursin at (504) 436-0915 or (504) 330-4010. -- May 29: Couples Ministry for singles and engaged and married couples is at 7 p.m. -- June 4 is the Men's Ministry meeting at 7 p.m....

When Progressive Church began buying 18 acres across the street from its sanctuary five years ago, the congregation knew that it was just furthering its efforts to make its Marrero neighborhood a better place. On this huge tract, bordered by Fourth and Cohen streets, the West Bank Expressway and Garden Drive, the church would build a family life center complete with a number of amenities that neighbors said would improve their quality of life. "This is a center of hope to give people hope in life," pastor Sterling Mealancon said. But when contractors began to dig on the site that was a former junkyard, they unearthed an asbestos problem that would take five years of negotiation and remediation and hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix. That's why the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality recently recognized Progressive for its work and awarded the church a Citation for Brownfields Excellence on Nov. 2. The project took 10 months and cost $500,000. "We were in a 50-day prayer campaign. The day we ended our prayer campaign was the day they finished the cleanup," Mealancon said. "Projects like this one, that clean up the environment, make property usable for business, create new jobs and help build the community are good for the state," DEQ Secretary Harold Leggett said in a news release. EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene said that the project exemplifies how federal, state and local agencies can work together to return contaminated property back to commerce. "EPA continues to use the Brownfields program to stimulate environmental and economic success in our communities," Greene said in a news release. State DEQ officials also recognized the Regional Planning Commission and Waldemar S. Nelson for their participation in the project. Mealancon said that the church hopes to break ground early next year on the $6 million Family Life Center, and that he's pushing for a completion date by late 2009. The 55,000-square-foot facility will house a worship center, classrooms, meeting rooms, a fitness center, a cafeteria and other amenities....