A Greenwood woman has spent the past year anxiously waiting for news on when she will need to begin looking for a new home.
A year ago, residents of about 30 homes in Greenwood Estates were told they would be displaced as part of a project to widen Worthsville Road west of U.S. 31, but a lack of information since then has left them unsure and concerned about what may happen, residents said.
Shelby Donenfeld, whose family has lived in the mobile home community north of Worthsville Road and west of U.S. 31 for five years, said she doesn’t know yet when she’ll be forced to move or what type of financial compensation her family will receive. She wants to start searching for a new home, but can’t begin making those plans until she finds out how long she is able to remain at Greenwood Estates.
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Last spring, residents in the community who border Worthsville Road first received notices about how they might be relocated due to the upcoming road project. At a public meeting, city officials and consultants answered questions about the project, telling residents that federal law required the government to reimburse them for the costs associated with relocation.
But in the following year, residents said they haven’t received any notification from either the city or Greenwood Estates.
“I need to know when I need to start looking for a place to live because I have three children,” Donenfeld said.
Donenfeld has reached out to both the management at Greenwood Estates as well as to city officials only to be told that they don’t know yet when she’ll be forced to leave her home. Had she known about the project prior to moving to Greenwood Estates, she would have chosen another location, she said.
“We have made this our home,” she said. “I have our dream kitchen. This is what we wanted. If we would have known, we would never have put this money into this. It is very irritating.”
A spokesperson for Greenwood Estates said they couldn’t comment at this time.
As part of its long-term plans to improve east-west traffic, Greenwood is in the process of widening Worthsville Road. An interchange at Interstate 65 was completed in 2015 and work to widen the road between U.S. 31 and I-65 wrapped up in 2016. Later this year, Greenwood plans to rebuild the section of Worthsville Road from Graham Road to the eastern city limits, a project that will cost about $3.3 million.
Through 2021, the city wants to spend nearly $20 million to upgrade sections of Worthsville Road, mainly west of U.S. 31, widening the road, adding two roundabouts and connecting a new road to Stones Crossing Road, eliminating two 90-degree turns. The next section would improve the road all the way to State Road 135, a project estimated to cost $11.5 million, but officials aren’t yet sure when it would be done.
Construction on the section of Worthsville Road between Averitt Road and U.S. 31, which would pass by Greenwood Estates, is set for 2020, and the city is currently working on buying land needed for the project, city engineer Daniel Johnston said.
Larry Adams, who began renting a home in Greenwood Estates in August, said he was never informed before he signed the lease that he would not be able to stay long-term. He found out about the Worthsville Road project from other residents, not from managers or the city, he said.
“It upsets me that I am going to have to move again,” he said.
The Greenwood Redevelopment Commission recently approved spending about $230,000 on purchasing 10 properties. Additional land purchases, including property in Greenwood Estates, are still being negotiated, with the goal of the purchases being completed by this fall, Johnston said.
About 30 mobile homes lining the north side of Worthsville Road are at risk of being displaced. Already, several of the lots are empty.
For Jeff Pearcy who purchased a home about a year ago, the potential of having to sell and move isn’t worrisome. He believes he’ll end up getting reimbursed for more than what he initially paid, given the improvements he’s made since then, he said.
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Planning for work on Worthsville Road west of U.S. 31 is underway. Here’s a look at some details of that project:
Where: Worthsville Road between U.S. 31 and Averitt Road
Improvements: Widened to four and five lanes with a roundabout at the Averitt Road intersection.
Estimated cost: $8.1 million
Construction: 2020
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