HARRISBURG- Harrisburg officials have been searching for more than two years for money to help residents along South 14
th
Street after a giant sinkhole erupted, prompting the condemnation of at least 10 homes.
Residents in the 1400 block of South 14th have lived in fear and limbo since March 2014, when their homes became virtually worthless and dangerous in which to reside.
Now, a solution may be at hand.
The state Department of Community and Economic Development has identified the sinkhole area as a priority for $8.5 million in disaster relief federal housing money.
The money could be used to buy out homeowners on the block, raze the damaged homes and establish the area as recreational green space.
To accomplish this, the state plans to use unspent disaster money originally approved in 2013 for damage related to Tropical Storm Lee to help Harrisburg. The state filed an amended plan with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and opened a 30-day public comment period last week. The amended plan is posted online.
The original action plan guided the distribution of nearly $30 million for disaster relief across the state. A portion of that money remains available for property buyouts, and that is the pot of $8.5 million that could go to Harrisburg residents interested in selling their homes.
The state would pay the fair-market value of the home prior to the disaster, according to the plan.
If HUD approves the amended plan, it would mark the first time the Commonwealth used this type of disaster relief for sinkholes, according to DCED Secretary Dennis Davin. Previously, sinkholes weren't considered eligible under disaster declarations, but the city of Harrisburg pushed the issue and hired engineers who reviewed the site and tied the damage to Tropical Storm Lee.
The state Department of Community and Economic Development "reviewed, agreed with, and advocated for HUD to consider this project as an eligible project," Davin said. "DCED will begin working with the city and PEMA (Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency) as soon as the department receives official approval following the public comment period."
The cost of buyouts and cleanup at the site has been estimated by city officials to be about $6 million. The potential solution on the horizon represented good news for residents, city officials said.
"It is really exciting," said Jackie Parker, the city's community and economic development director. "It's a great development."
City officials have previously applied for other grants to try to help residents, but none have panned out except a $1 million matching county grant. The city was turned down for a federal disaster mitigation grant, which instead was earmarked for Palmyra.
The city still has many questions and the federal government still has to approve the plan, so Parker said she was keeping her hopes in check.
"I don't know how it's all going to work out...but it's good movement," she said.
Davin, meanwhile, said the goal would be to buy all homes from all owners on the block as part of the voluntary buyout program.
"This type of reexamination of the programs is exactly the type of innovative thinking that allows state government to be both efficient and effective in program implementation," he said.