The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority and its development partners will begin tearing down the sprawling Commodore Perry Homes low-income housing community on Monday, after years of planning and nine months after winning city approval. 

The site is fenced in on all sides along Perry Street east of downtown Buffalo in preparation for work to begin, when crews will begin demolishing 24 derelict and vacant buildings that have been boarded up for more than 10 years.

That's the first step in a $253 million, multiyear redevelopment of the Old First Ward site that will ultimately produce 27 all-electric buildings with 405 affordable apartments.

"The vacant Perry Street homes have been mocking our community for decades, but today we are taking the first steps towards a better and brighter future with the demolition of this blighted eyesore," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement.

The mixed-use and mixed-income project received final city approval last July, but the developers just closed on the construction financing, allowing work to finally begin.

The venture has been years in the making. Originally constructed in the 1950s, the 30-acre Perry complex at 339 Perry and 448 South Park Ave. - one of the biggest in BMHA's portfolio - has been derided by community and business leaders for its deteriorating conditions and poor appearance that have dragged down the neighborhoods around it. It's also been cited by federal auditors for safety violations.

\Its 328-unit tower buildings and 84 townhomes on the western end along South Park are largely full, but the 330 apartments in 24 three-story walk-up buildings stretching along Perry and parallel streets have been empty for years. More than 300 units were demolished over 20 years ago, leaving empty and grassy lots in their wake. So it became a priority for BMHA to do something.

The public housing agency and its nonprofit affiliate, Bridges Development, teamed up with Pennrose Holdings of Philadelphia to redevelop the 10-block area. But rather than just renovate, the team decided to undertake a complete overhaul by demolishing and rebuilding, with a mixture of commercial, residential and community space.

Upon completion, the Perry Homes will offer a range of newly built and renovated townhouses, triplex, midlevel and tower buildings. But instead of traditional multi­family apartments with one and two bedrooms, there will be more larger units with three, four and five bedrooms, to accommodate the bigger families that make up much of the city population that BMHA serves.

Plans for the first phase of 18.8 acres call for construction of 24 two- or three-story townhouses and stacked residential walk-up buildings, along with three five-story buildings along South Park and Louisiana Street. Each mid-rise will consist of a one-story podium with four stories of wood-frame structure above, with a central lobby. Two of the mid-rise buildings along South Park will also have three retail spaces.

The development will total 566,162 square feet, with 108 one-bedroom, 110 two­bedroom, 136 three-bedroom, 37 four-bedroom and 14 five-bedroom units. There's also 8,000 square feet of commercial space, as well as amenities such as fitness centers.

BMHA will provide federal Section 8 "project-based" vouchers for 284 of the units, which will be rented under the agency's wait list, while the rest will be for households earning up to 50% to 60% of the local median income, which will be leased through a housing lottery. Those will be financed using low-income housing tax credits.

The site will offer 276 surface parking spots. As part of the project, Fulton Street will be reconfigured into a two-way street, while a parcel on Otto Street will remain green space after buildings are demolished. BMHA and Pennrose also hope to work with the city to coordinate a redevelopment of the adjacent Lanigan Park.

The project is being supported with $22.6 million in tax-exempt bonds, $114.8 million in state and federal low-income tax credits and a $95.6 million subsidy from New York Homes and Community Renewal. Empire State Development ponied up another $5 million.

Other funding includes $6 million from BMHA, $1.1 million in community ­development block grants, $5 million in rehab assistance payments through U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and $1.6 million in other federal tax credits.

A later phase will add another 604 apartments. That phase will include demolition of one of the six "plus-shaped" eight-story tower buildings on the northwest block, bordered by Scott, Louisiana, Perry and Chicago streets, as well as some of the outdated rowhouse buildings in the southwest corner along South Park.

Those will be replaced by another series of mostly mid-rise apartment buildings - including on either side of the city-owned Lanigan Field House, playground and splash pad on South Park, which BMHA officials hope the city will upgrade.