Homeowners Forced Out by Eminent Domain

By Marva Hinton, WDBO

Seminole County's plan to improve the State Road 436 - Red Bug Lake Road interchange is expected to be a hit with commuters, but it'll force dozens of people out of their homes.

The project is designed to avoid the heavy backups that seem to build at 436 and Red Bug everyday, but homeowners like Will Collier tell Channel 9, they'll pay the price.

"Supposedly, they will take and pay for our homes and everything like that (and) take good care of us, so we'll see," said Collier.

However, Attorney Prineet Sharma tells Channel 9, he's skeptical.

"One of our clients has been in their house for 18 years, with five children, all their grandkids, and to have them locate at the age of 65, whatever compensation can be obtained through this process is never going to be enough to replace that," said Sharma.

Seventeen homes and a handful of businesses will be bulldozed to make way for extra lanes and a left-turn flyover from 436 to Red Bug. Construction is set to start in 2010.