INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A troubled Indianapolis housing complex is gone, ready for new development.

It’s the final chapter for the Towne and Terrace Apartments on the city’s far east side. The complex had long been a hotbed for crime. A wrecking ball demolished the last building on Thursday.

The apartments, located near Post Road and 42nd Street, were built in the 1960s.

The area eventually became crime-ridden as the buildings were neglected and vacancies grew over time.

Aryn Schounce, senior policy adviser to Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett, said Friday, “It became, for many, many years, an area where there was a lot of drug trafficking, violent crime, and just other activities that made it such that residents who were there were not safe.”

The demolition was a decade in the making, with a price tag of more than $15 million due to the city government’s long legal battle with the apartments’ homeowner’s association.

More than 30 buildings were taken down throughout the years.

Schounce said, “It’s a bittersweet moment, especially for residents who lived in the Towne and Terrace when it was thriving. … But it had gotten to the point that we had to make difficult decisions. But now, we can breathe new life.”

The city says the area, including the former Oaktree Apartments, will be redeveloped. They say, in total, the 38 acres will be open for housing, commercial retail, or even grocery stores. Schounce said, “This is a huge opportunity for the far east side community. It’s an opportunity for really historic investment and bring the community’s vision to life.”

The mayor’s adviser added that the location is ideal for new development because it’s located close to Post Road and 42nd Street, a busy intersection and next to the IndyGo Purple Line, a rapid transit bus route that began operating a year ago from downtown Indianapolis to the city of Lawrence.

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