Excerpt:

The Alameda Association of Realtors selects a local cause to support each year and for 2012, they’ve chosen the Alameda Point Collaborative. Its major effort will be the construction of a new teen center in a former Collaborative office space on Orion Street.

“It’s just really a community project. It’s kind of exciting,” said Justine Francis, the association’s community outreach chair and the organizer of the project.

Times have been tough for local residents and business owners who are typically quick to contribute to local causes, Francis said, as well as for Realtors who have struggled through a bear housing market. So instead of hosting a fundraiser, the association opted to take on a hands-on project.