The houses are free, but there's a catch
The area’s housing give-away market has never been hotter.
At last count, four houses can be yours for free.
Of course, there's a stipulation that will require a trip to the bank for a loan. Those who take the houses must move them. Relocating a house isn't cheap.
First Presbyterian Church is offering a two-story house at 620 N. Elm St. to anyone who will move it. If no one comes forward, the house likely will be demolished for a parking lot. Preservationists and Fisher Park residents want to find a way to save the house, built in 1930.
The house's fate will be discussed at a meeting of the Greensboro Preservation Commission Wednesday at 4 p.m. in the City Council Chamber at the Melvin Municipal Building.
A recent posting on this blog said it's doubtful any vacant lots exist in Fisher Park for the house. Ann Stringfield, former president of the neighborhood association, however, has e-mailed to say lots are available in Fisher Park.
Starmount Co. will give away the Dick-Albright House, a lovely white two-story house with a two-column portico, near West Friendly Avenue and Green Valley Road, across from Friendly Shopping Center.
Marvin Brown, in his 1995 book, "Greensboro: An Architectural Record," said part of the house was probably built in the 19th century. It's been moved before, in the 1950s from across West Friendly, where it stood in the way of the shopping center.
One of the past owners is believed to be W.W. Dick, who built the venerable Dixie Apartments across from First Horizon Stadium. In the 1920s, Dick started work on a structure behind a row of buildings in the 200 block of West Market Street. He ceased construction after city inspectors said he had failed to acquire a zoning change. Dick never resumed construction and the walls remained standing until recently.
Preservation North Carolina is trying to find a new owner for the Jonathan Harris House, built in 1830 by a Quaker abolitionist. The house stands in a commercial area on N.C. 68. A Greensboro woman who owns 14 acres in North High Point has offered to give three acres to anyone who will move the house there. So far, no takers. Mike Stout of Preservation North Carolina says technically the house is not free. PNC is charging $4,500 to cover its expenses. But the good news is that by dividing the house and moving it in parts the cost may be only $25,000, he says. That's doesn't include putting everything back together once it arrives at the new site.
Finally, investors who bought the Arbor House property at West Market and Spring streets are trying to find someone to move the old house. The 1875 house, built for a daughter of former Gov. John Motley Morehead and her husband, stands at the site of a planned condominium project. Presevationists are trying to persuade the investors to incorporate the house into the project.
Mike Blake, who owns Blake Moving Co., says moving a two-house can often cost more than building a new one. The big expense is lowering utility lines along the route. One way around that obstacle is breaking the house into parts, as Stout proposes for the Harris house. This was done recently for the large Reedy Fork Ranch House on U.S. 29 North near Bryan Park. The house was divided into sections and moved to Chapel Hill. But then there's the cost of reassembling the house.
"There's no easy way," says Blake, whose company ten years ago moved the 7,500-square foot McAlister House from behind First Presbyterian Church to North Church Street.
He declined to reveal the price, but the church reportedly paid $138,000 for the move, with the new owner, Ann Carlson, paying for renovations once the house arrived.
