CHARLESTOWN, Ind. (WDRB) -- Several new homes are under construction in Pleasant Ridge, a welcomed sight for residents of the Charlestown neighborhood who've lived through a years-long property dispute with the city.
Several new homes are in the ground with new foundations filling other empty lots.
"I'm excited, and I feel like there's a weight that's been lifted off," Pleasant Ridge resident Melissa Crawford said.
Crawford said the past few years have been an emotional rollercoaster, with the neighborhood in a legal fight with the city in a six-year land dispute that ended last year.
"I always felt like that could never happen in the United States of America, that nobody could ever come in and try to wipe out everybody from their homes that they worked so hard for, and it did," Crawford said.
Houses were left abandoned and torn down, with families being offered just $10,000 to move out.
"Our home is worth way more than $10,000," said Ellen Keith, who has lived in her home for 44 years. "We wouldn't sell it for $80,000, so we're glad to see new homes coming in and our property values going up."
Some of the new homes are going up next door to her house, though she said it's bittersweet.
"It's a relief, because we're still here, and they're building new houses. So we feel like our neighborhood is gonna survive," she said. "Even though there are a lot of people that are gone from the neighborhood — and we miss them terribly, and I'm so sorry they lost their homes — but there's still 144 homes up here that have survived. So we are happy."
Neighbors are excited to welcome new families back to the neighborhood.
"I just see the future is bright," Crawford said. "Things are looking up."
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