Buyout pays for house, but not home

COLERAIN TWP, Ohio - A buyout from the county to turn his front yard into an expressway ramp will pay for John Langworthy’s house and his family’s relocation into a new house, but, he said, it won't pay for what's most important — their home and the memories built there over the years.

"When we moved here in 1998, my wife was pregnant with our second child Jake, which he's 13 now," said Langworthy, as Jake gets off the school bus and briskly walked down the sidewalk, up the porch’s stairs and into the front door to their home.

As Langworthy watched his son walk, he remembered how he built the addition on the porch. That’s not all that he built here.
 
"Our roots have been placed here. My wife's from Colerain Township and I'm originally from Colerain Township. It's going to be sad to leave this house," he said.

Inside his house, framed photographs are in abundance. Baby photos,  wedding photos, family photos — all displayed with pride. A memory attached to each one. But memories aren’t all that Langworthy said he’s losing in this deal.

Langworthy said he has invested about $125,000 into the house’s renovations and repairs over the past 14 years. Hardwood flooring, insulation, a new kitchen and bathroom, an office, a dining room expansion overlooking his back yard, a balcony on the back of the house extruding from his bedroom, and the house’s final renovation last spring — new gray siding covering both the garage and house. Big things and little things here and there around the house, which was built in 1916. They did what they could afford, when they had time -- weekends or days off -- sacrificing free time to put into their home.

"It's important because you put your blood, sweat and tears into it," he said of the work that he did a lot of on his own, with the help of his family. They put a piece of themselves into each part of the home they built he said.

Now, Langworthy and his family will have to leave their years of work and memories behind, so Hamilton County can build a new expressway ramp in his front yard — expanding the road from one side of the road, into his yard, nearly diminishing the entire front yard.

The ramp would replace a busy intersection at U.S. 27 for Miami River Road in Colerain Township. Initially, the county offered to take just the front 15 feet of his property and build the ramp around his house.

That idea did not sit well with Langworthy.

He fought the ramp, placing a large sign in his front yard, which got a lot of public attention. After that, commissioners offered him the buyout.

"Their home encircled by an on ramp to a highway... that's no place for anybody to live, to raise a family. And as a consequence, we felt it was necessary to take the issue back under our wing and adopt measures to ensure that the family was treated fairly," said Todd Portune, Hamilton County Commissioner, just after the commissioners’ meeting Wednesday morning.

That was where they voted on a resolution to: “Require engineer’s purchase of family home at fair value and relocation of family if highway project is pursued.” The resolution ensured that the family would receive money for losing their home, if the plans go forward in building the ramp.

The family, while thinking about negotiated their home's value and moving expenses, said you cannot put a price tag on the most important asset attached to their Miami River Road home.

"The buyout... it's not giving us all the memories," said Langworthy, bending down and showing the handprints he, his wife and kids made in the last square of concrete on the sidewalk, leading to from the road to his front door. A worth that cannot be measured, he said.

Negotiations are expected to begin soon between John Langworthy and the Hamilton County Engineer. Once they reach an agreement, it will go before the Commission again.

Portune said construction could be begin sometime this year.