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State College Sinkhole Update

An update on a story we’ve been following since December. A massive sinkhole swallowed a parking lot between dozens of townhomes in Centre County, forcing residents to find other places to live.

A little over a month ago, a wide sinkhole taking up most of the parking lot in Patton Township. Recently, construction crews have filled in much of where the sinkhole used to be, with some spots still unfilled.

Authorities haven’t confirmed to us when this construction phase exactly began or when it will finish. Though, a number of area residents tell us they first noticed the construction within “the past week or two.”

The sinkhole initially swallowed the parking lot between some townhomes off Amblewood Way on Christmas night, displacing at least 18 people. All this, right across the street from Park Forest Elementary School.

It’s not clear if any of the displaced residents have returned to their homes. However, you can still see the yellow signs on the front doors of these townhomes, originally hung up to note that the homes were evacuated for safety reasons. Plus, there were no cars parked in the resident spots.

Townhome residents told us at the Jan. 6 homeowners association meeting that they are responsible for having a structural assessment done within 45 days on their property. They added that the owner has to pay and find someone to conduct the assessment. Jan. 6 was 40 days ago. Assuming that’s when the countdown began, we could potentially see updates within the next few weeks.

Once residents get those structural assessments, they told us the Georgetown Park Community Association — the HOA — has to connect with the Centre Region Code Administration and the State College Borough Water Authority, to plot out their next steps.

The directors for the Water Authority and the Code Administration did not return our requests for comment. When asked for updates on the situation, a staffer at Paradigm Properties Group’s Ferguson Township office told us they have none. The townhomes affected are one of Paradigm’s properties.

 

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