Six new homes will be built on Youngstown's south side thanks to a grant from the Ohio Department of Development's new Welcome Home Ohio program.

The $2.4 million grant was awarded to the Mahoning County Land Bank in collaboration with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. (YNDC), to build six single-family homes and renovate six other existing ones to sell to qualifying buyers.

Buyers included in the program must have an income of 80 percent or less of the area's median income and agree to live in the home for at least 5 years.

According to the release, the six homes will be built on Mineral Springs Avenue on the eastern edge of Mill Creek Park. The addresses of the lots are 725, 730, 732, 737, 738 and 753.

The lots are currently owned by YNDC, which has already built two new homes on the street. All the new homes will be a minimum of three-bedroom, two-bathroom and two-car garage homes.

"With the addition of six new homes there, that's going to feel like a completely new street," Land Bank Executive Director Debora Flora said.

Along with the six new homes on Mineral Springs Avenue, six others will be renovated. The first home to undergo renovations is on Stocker Avenue near McKelvey Lake on the city's east side.

The five others being renovated will be revealed in the future.