By Pete Stidman
News Editor

They were first drawn to the site by neighbors who lamented a vacant lot, a missing link along Geneva Avenue near Fields Corner. Then, they paid a high price to sellers who bought it for a song and spoke to as many as seven different neighborhood groups to garner support.

Nobody said non-profit development would be easy.

Last week, Viet-AID's latest plan to rejuvenate the neighborhood was sent to the Boston Redevelopment Authority: a 29-unit mixed-use development with 3,700 square feet of commercial space on Geneva between Tonawanda and Bloomfield streets. The proposed four-story building includes a pair of three-bedroom units suitable for families along with a slew of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, all rental, and all classified as affordable.

Twenty percent of the units would rent at rates affordable for those earning 30 percent of Greater Boston's median income, and the remaining units would rent at a rate suitable for earners of 60 percent of the median income.

All of the organizations the developer has reached out to have given their approval, although some abutter's concerns, mostly over the size and density of the project, have yet to be resolved, according to Viet-AID director Hiep Chu.

"It's a real welcome addition to the neighborhood," said Rupert Moore of the Greater Four Corners Action Coalition. "That neighborhood across from Fields Corner T station is a really rough neighborhood and we have to bring it back."

Chu expects the BRA to schedule a meeting as early as the end of July.

"Assuming we still get support from the community it would go to the BRA board for a vote, the quickly we will go back to the Zoning Board of Appeal," said Chu. "The last piece is really waiting for the financing."

Viet-AID hopes to begin construction by late spring, 2009.