(PUEBLO, Colo)— New growth is coming to Pueblo with a new project, called the Westside neighborhood plan, breathing new life into the Steel City.

Pueblo was chosen for a nearly $17 million federal grant which is being used to revamp this part of the city.

“Pueblo has received an influx of funding to revitalize and address the serious need on the west side of town,” said Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar. “Pueblo’s Westside neighborhood will become one that thrives, attracts other investments, and is sustainable.”

An area from 24th St to 31st St will soon be completely revitalized, transforming into everything from affordable housing to community spaces, all while connecting the west side of Pueblo to other parts of the city.

“For the last 25, 30 years, Pueblo hasn’t got resources I think that would allow it to really begin accelerating,” said Sen. John Hickenlooper. “But I think I’ve got an understanding of how much there is here that people don’t really appreciate and what the future could look like.”

Plans for Pueblo’s Westside include more than 600 affordable housing units and better connectivity around the city.

Neighborworks Southern Colorado says the need for affordable homes is skyrocketing.

“One of the exciting things that we’re applying to this project is shared equity, home ownership. So it’s making homeownership affordable and permanently affordable, so it’ll be affordable for generations to come in sales,” said Ashleigh Winans, CEO of Neighborworks Southern Colorado. “And that allows our families to start building wealth of equity and being able to be more stable and put that back into the community.”

70 bus stops will be upgraded to meet ADA standards. Plans call for building a new stretch of Sun Mountain Blvd, a 24th street bridge leading into downtown, along with a new fire station.

“This is part of a larger commitment to updating and rebuilding our current stations throughout the city, with the goal of four new fire stations being designed and built,” said Mayor Gradisar.

“So all of these connections are going to be game changers. And then bringing in the public transportation means that people will have access to amenities that they’ve never had access to before,” said Winans.

Another key component is CSU Pueblo offering a navigator program for eager young minds, bringing a direct path to higher education for kids in this area.

“We will be reaching out to the community of Pueblo and low income and underserved communities to help connect them with Internet service, Internet access, computers, and digital literacy education,” said Dr. Derek Lopez, Associate Vice President of Operations and Advancement with CSU Pueblo.

This project is coming to life after Pueblo was chosen to receive $16.8 million as part of the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program.

“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill was a major milestone and that’s going to be delivering transportation resources year after year,” said Sen. Hickenlooper.