Once a lead-tainted site, the homes are now EPA-certified lead-free, perhaps a unique selling point.

Just days after completing the biggest residential cleanup of an environmental hazard in Greater Cincinnati, the homes of Liberty Estates - formerly Lexington Manor - are back on the market.

They boast a great location with top-rated schools, in one of the region's fastest-growing residential areas. The homes are priced at original 2001 levels, between $204,000 and $274,000.

"You can get a lot of house for your money," said Paul Bettendorf of Centerville, a 29-year-old financial analyst who toured three homes Saturday, the first day the remade neighborhood was again open for business. "My biggest worry would be from a resale value aspect. But I'm not worried from a safety standpoint."

OPEN HOUSES

Ryland Homes' Liberty Estates sales office will be open noon-6 p.m. again today. Sales hours are 2-6 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and noon-6 p.m. weekends. Liberty Estates is off Milliken Road, one mile east of Ohio 747. • Lexington Manor/Liberty Estates timeline

Eight homes sold Saturday, when Ryland Homes was knocking an additional $5,000 off the asking price for the first 10 buyers in a community that was a virtual ghost town just six months ago.

At first, Amie and Donald Lee dismissed the idea of living here. They drove by to check it out, but the torn-up yards and equipment removing contaminated soil worried them.

But the St. Bernard couple was drawn to the subdivision's prime location and bargain prices.

So they discussed it some more and researched the cleanup process.

"I just wanted to make sure it wasn't going to be a threat to us and our kids in the future," 28-year-old Amie Lee said.

On Saturday, the Lees, who are expecting their first child in January, purchased their five-bedroom, 21/2-bath home for less than $210,000. It's plenty of space, they say, for their new family, an office and massage room for Amie's new practice.

"With (the EPA) approval and stamp on everything, I really feel comfortable," 30-year-old Donald Lee said. "You can totally tell a transformation from before. It makes us feel a lot better."

The 26-acre development, built on the 1960s Hamilton Sportsman's Club skeet-shooting range off Millikin Road, was declared a Superfund site in May last year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Lead levels at 10,000 parts per million - far above the government's allowable maximum of 400 parts per million - were detected in 2002, a year after the first families moved into new two-story, four-bedroom homes. No illnesses were ever publicly linked to the lead, but the hazard sent young homeowner families packing.

Ryland paid an estimated $2.5 million for the five-month cleanup, plus $7.78 million to buy back 27 homes from customers. Ten of the houses were never occupied.

Only two families remained while bulldozers removed lead this spring and summer from 32 of the 46 lots.

John Adams, Ryland's Ohio Valley division president, acknowledges that remarketing the renamed subdivision presents a unique challenge to the California-based home builder. He also sees it as a rare opportunity for customers, since Ryland has priced the two-story, four-bedroom homes about $45,000 under what he says is market value.

"The first challenge is to educate the public about the chain of events - what took place, what was done and what led us to where we are today - so people will feel comfortable with what occurred," Adams says.

Customers will be handed an eight-page color booklet detailing the subdivision's history and the cleanup process, titled: "The Challenge. The Solution. The Results."

"People are going to want to know what happened - and we want them to know and want to make sure they get as much information as they can," Adams says.

Each buyer will be given a copy of a letter from Steve Renninger, the U.S. EPA on-scene coordinator, stating the lot meets federal standards, and that "no further (cleanup) action is necessary." That letter was blown up to poster size and on prominent display in the model home Saturday. There also was an easel explaining what Ryland did to clean up the site.

Adams says: "The health hazard has been eliminated, but there is an opportunity for a person to find a lead pellet somewhere."

With 30 active new subdivisions in the township, all in the top-rated Lakota School District, Ryland officials have decided to compete here on price.

County records show the houses were sold originally for $207,000 to $291,000, and reacquired by Ryland for $228,000 to $381,000. Similar new homes on one-third acre lots in a nearby Ryland subdivision would sell for an average of $285,000 to $300,000, Adams says. This is the first time Ryland has remarketed an entire subdivision, he says.

"Initially we wanted to price them higher," Adams says. "But the company took the financial impact last year, when we repurchased the homes, so we decided to pass along the savings to customers so we can sell the community rapidly and move on to the next one. We expect all houses will be sold by March."

Deborah Robb Tausch, a sales agent for Sibcy Cline's West Chester office, calls the Liberty Estates prices a bargain for would-be homeowners.

"Some people may be scared (by the lead problems), but the educated public will know this is a real deal," she says.

While yards, sidewalks and driveways were dug up this summer, Ryland refurbished all 39 interiors to what Adams calls "better than new" condition.

"Every house was repainted. In some we replaced carpet, removed wallpaper and changed counter tops, bathroom fixtures and light fixtures - anything to broaden the appeal to a larger audience," Adams says. New trees and shrubs were planted, and the lawns watered and fertilized. All homes come with a 10-year warranty.

What also makes Liberty Estates unusual is the large number of homes - more than double the size of Homearama - available for immediate occupancy. Among the amenities installed for the original buyers were a fourth garage, breakfast nooks, finished basements, a basement workshop and one in-ground pool, Adams says.

The deal attracted dozens of people Saturday, some who just went door to door browsing the various models. After each sale, Ryland officials posted a red "SOLD" sign in the front window to let everyone know another home was off the market. One of those newly purchased homes still has a swing set in the back yard from the previous owner.

Even before the sales office opened at noon Saturday, Ryland had a list of 17 potential customers who had called Adams. Some already had picked a specific home, he says.

Several were recommended to Ryland by Jay Helson, a former Lexington Manor resident. After Helson sold to Ryland last year, and built a new home in West Chester Township, lead deposits were found under the swing set where his children, now 5 and 7, had played. He continued to monitor Ryland's cleanup efforts, and was impressed with what he called a thorough job.

"I know some people will be apprehensive, but (Ryland) had the EPA experts supervising the cleanup. If people do their homework and research this, they shouldn't be afraid," says Helson, who recalls seeing lead pellets in vacant lots three years ago.

"Offering new homes at 2001 prices is definitely a great bargain," he says. "There are some nice houses out there, and they've done a lot more things to them, including my old house."

Soil sent to Kentucky

Where did all the lead go?

To Kentucky.

The 23,000 tons of soil from the old Lexington Manor - now Liberty Estates - was dumped in the Epperson Waste Disposal landfill in Williamstown, Ky.

The tainted dirt was treated with a phosphate-based additive to stabilize the lead and prevent it from leaching - rendering it "nonhazardous" - before being hauled out of the subdivision, said Wayne Lawrence, project manager for Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Sharonville consultant hired by Ryland Homes.

The 23,000 tons is the equivalent area of 21/2 football fields, to a depth of 6 feet, according to Ryland.

Chunks of concrete from eight driveways were trucked to the Grant County landfill.

Before new topsoil was spread, soil samples from each of the 32 excavated lots were analyzed twice - by Ryland's team and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The U.S. EPA then issued Ryland a letter for each lot stating that the land meets federal standards, and that "no further (cleanup) action is necessary."

Steve Renninger, the U.S. EPA on-scene coordinator, praised Ryland for its cleanup efforts.

"They did a really great job. It went according to plan, right on schedule," Renninger said.

The EPA's final report on the cleanup will be completed next month, he said.

E-mail jkiesewetter@enquirer.com, esolvig@enquirer.com