Two years ago, Belair-Edison was a neighborhood that prospective homebuyers might have driven through on their way to more sought-after areas, says community leader Barbara Aylesworth.

No more.

"We have a bigger audience of prospective buyers looking at our neighborhood, and it's because we've had the resources to work on our real estate, our pride, image and marketing," said Aylesworth, director of Belair-Edison Neighborhoods Inc.

Home remodelers have been busy in Belair-Edison, one of seven city neighborhoods picked in the fall of 2000 for a $13 million, two-year revitalization pilot program. The other neighborhoods are Ednor Gardens, Garwyn Oaks, Midtown, Patterson Park, Reservoir Hill and Southern Mondawmin.

Mayor Martin O'Malley and other politicians and community leaders will celebrate the second year of the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative today during a news conference in Garwyn Oaks at the home of Leon Carlton, who received a mortgage and remodeling loan through the program.

But time and funds are running out, and some wonder about the program's future.

A $1 million gift from the Abell Foundation, which will be announced today, will help, but more commitments are needed, supporters say.

The program has enough money to last until June or July, said Jayson Schkloven, a public relations agent hired by Live Baltimore, a chief supporter of the neighborhood initiative.

The director of the mayor's Office of Neighborhoods, Israel C. Patoka, said the program's future "looks really strong." He said home values in many of the initiative's areas have increased during the past two years, which might encourage investors to stay with the program.

The Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative offers below-market interest rates for mortgage and home improvement loans, and provides neighborhood groups with cash for projects.

The program has been funded by public and private sources. More than 80 low-interest loans totaling about $3.4 million have been dispensed, said Schkloven.