As a long-term improvement project, Grace Street has not exactly lived up to its name.

Two housing developers say drug dealing and blight are compromising their investment on the Mount Washington street, and they asked city officials for help during a recent walking tour.

Other neighborhood advocates press the point further, saying that as Grace Street goes, so goes the neighborhood.

"You have to get control of your back streets" for overall stability, said Darla D'Anna, a board member of the Mount Washington Community Development Corp.

Almost 10 years ago, the organization targeted Grace Street for improvement. A more recent incentive is its proximity to the Grandview Scenic Byways Park, which is being developed as a greenway that encircles Mount Washington and Duquesne Heights; Grace Street dead ends at one of the park's portals.

Several years ago, when an owner of numerous lots on Grace Street decided to sell, Ms. D'Anna pitched the sale to Sandy L'Heureux, a developer.

"Everyone thought I was crazy" to buy in, Ms. L'Heureux said.

Her contractors completed work on eight new townhouses almost two years ago and they all sold for less than $200,000 each. She said the occupants make up "the strongest demographic that's been seen on the street in years" including doctors, a lawyer and a financier.

The eight units are connected, with garages in front. Within a month, work should be completed on phase two, two new townhouses on the other side of the street.

"People are buying here because they want to live in the city," Ms. L'Heureux said. She added that it's unlikely a property on the street would sell for more than $200,000 as the street is now.

She is working with a former Penguins player, Francois Leroux, who has made contracting his second career. They plan to develop two lots she owns for phase three, and five other properties designated for phase three have been secured for the CDC in the city's land trust. A $100,000 grant from former state Rep. Michael Diven is helping to clear titles and pay for street repairs and fix other infrastructure problems.

Inside one of the almost-ready townhouses, Mr. Leroux addressed the entourage that included Assistant Police Chief William Bochter, Councilman Dan Deasy and Kim Graziani, the city's director of neighborhood initiatives.

"There's a lot of traffic down this street and I know why," he said, mentioning seeing lots of "Mercedes, BMWs and Hummers coming and going."

Grace Street also serves other ignoble purposes.

In August 2005, Ms. L'Heureux and Ms. D'Anna went to housing court in contention with a man they said was dumping debris at the end of the road; the man was fined in court, the city cleaned the debris, and the site still has been dumped on.

Similarly, building inspectors have cited the same property owners numerous times. Building inspector Jean D'Alessandro walked with the group carrying a sheaf of papers from a file on one of the properties. She rifled through them to show how they have amassed. Pointing at one house, she said, "We just cited him again this month."

Several properties along the stretch closest to the dead end have been junked-up. Lining the street are old cars, one with a tarp over it. Ms. L'Heureux pointed at several properties that are tax delinquent and at one that has a big hole in the roof. It is not inhabited, but people are believed to be using it illicitly.

Chief Bochter said the social problems on Grace Street will be addressed with additional patrols, the removal of abandoned vehicles and investigations.

Citywide, there's a lot worse blight than the blight on Grace Street, but Mary Causey, a CDC board member, said, "We don't want it to get to the point" of hard-core blight. "That's why we're out here now."