LANCASTER, SC (WBTV) - The front yard is as far as Jeremy Reis and his wife will let their five kids go to play at their home in the Edenmoor development in Lancaster County.
Beyond the edge of the grass lie too many dangers.
"Across the street there's a 25 foot ravine," said Reis.
Rice moved to Edenmoor three years ago from Cleveland, looking for their corner of well, Eden
"We purchased with grand promises of what the planned community was going to look like," said Reis.
Some of those promises were a community center with ball fields and a pool.
Three years later what they got was the barren waste land outside Eden.
"The way it was not maintained for so long, road conditions, it was really unsafe," said Reis.
Now the ball fields have never seen an inning of baseball, with the outfields covered in 5 foot tall weeds. Vandals have had their way with the club house, spray painting graffiti inside and out as well as breaking windows.
"It was disappointing the way the neighborhood fell apart," said Reis
Edenmoor was the idea of now US Congressman Mick Mulvaney, but he never developed it. It was the company he sold the land to that started construction. They went bankrupt three years ago leaving the property in disrepair and in a pile of legal battles on ownership.
Then this Monday the Calvary arrived.
Edenmoor Land Acquisition or ELA closed on its purchase of Edenmoor Friday. Since taking over the company has been busy fixing the erosion problem that caused the 25 foot deep canyon in the lot across from Reis's house.
Lancaster County Manager Steve Willis says the park and the EMS station along highway 521 that's never seen an ambulance will be under county control.
Willis is happy the neighborhood in the fastest growing area of the county is now on the up and up.
"For the residents simply seeing something go on they're going to get their neighborhood back," said Willis.
"Giving us hope that the neighborhood can turn around and we can see what we were originally promised out here," said Reis.
Edenmoor Land Acquisition, LLC (ELA) is a partnership between Saybrook's Municipal Opportunity Fund, and LStar Management a real estate investment management firm based in Raleigh.
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