The county on Friday was set to close on the purchase of one house, but is still in the settlement process with the other
FLORENCE -- Seven months after a landslide opened up a massive hole in the backyards of two Florence homes and forced the homeowners to evacuate, Burlington County is nearing deals with both.
The county on Friday was set to close on the purchase of Chris and Lynne O'Dell's East Front Street house, but is still in the settlement process with their neighbor, Gene Woodlee, county spokesman Eric Arpert said.
On Thursday, the county freeholders agreed to buy the O'Dells' house for $282,000.
MORE: Burlington County offers to purchase landslide-damaged properties
Lynne O'Dell described the sale as bittersweet.
"This was our home and not just a house and leaving it is very tough," she said.
O'Dell said though the house brought them many good memories, they are eager to move past the ordeal of the past seven months.
"Living out of boxes and with friends and staying here and staying there has been a terrible ordeal," she said.
She said they plan on moving to Pennsylvania.
The O'Dells knew erosion had been a problem for years, but rainy days in April triggered a landslide that created a cavernous, semicircle hole in their yard and sent a large tree 70 feet below into the Delaware River.
The couple have suspected an old sewer system that runs from the street and into the river between their house and their neighbor's house is to blame, but officials have yet to determine a cause.
Arpert said the county became involved because the houses sit on a county road and there were concerns that continued erosion would threaten the road.
The houses themselves will likely be demolished and the embankment stabilized in an effort to prevent erosion from further threatening Front Street, Arpert said.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.
