And pay $100,000 to move it on a barge! Actually, it’s not a bad deal, and not too uncommon. Historic houses are often marketed as free or for a small sum if you pay to move it to your own plot. And even in my own neighborhood, I know of several houses that were jacked up to make headroom for poured concrete basements, and a few that were jacked up and spun around to make the back of the house the front. But I’ve never heard of moving the house by barge!
From the Associated Press:
BARNEGAT LIGHT, N.J. – Sure, housing prices are falling. But how’s this for a bargain for a Long Island, N.Y. couple: An iconic beach house, designed by a world famous architect, for just $1.
The catch? They have to pay at least $100,000 to move it on a barge from the Jersey shore to their home.
But that’s just fine with Robert Gotkin and Deborah Sarnoff, who run a husband-and-wife dermatology and plastic surgery practice in New York. They already live in one house designed by architect Robert Venturi, and plan to use the newest addition as a guest cottage.
The design is very cool– I love the sailboat-shaped window. The house was built in 1967 and sounds like it’s quite quirky. I like homes like that.
“This is a wonderful opportunity, that we can get it of the site safely,” said Denise Scott Brown, Venturi’s wife who designed it with him. “It became a campaign for a wonderful house that was designed with lots of love. It’s very unusual; it looks like a little radio rather than a house.”
…The house, which was removed from its original location several weeks ago and stored in a bay-side marina, was jacked up and lifted onto a huge marine barge Thursday morning. Work crews had hoped to have it on its way by 9 a.m., but they delayed the departure to take advantage of more favorable tides on Long Island on Friday.
March 13, 2009
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