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TRADING SPACES
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HISTORIC
HOMES ARE RESCUED THROUGH RELOCATION OR RAISING
By Laurie Burstein
Joe Matyiko and his third-generation company have been picking up
and moving houses for 40 years. Expert House Movers not only moves
historic homes, but many other types of structures including a historic
bus depot in Eureka, Mo. and three 100-year-old lighthouses on the
East Coast.
The structural moving industry is not a new or far-fetched idea
says Matyiko. “Moving structures is a long-standing technique for
‘recycling’ rather than tearing down a valuable historic structure,”
he explains. “Older buildings can be salvaged, restored, and enjoyed
in new settings. Plus, moving a building often costs less than new
construction and preserves owner equity.”
Expert House Movers relocates a home in Kirkwood.
Moving structures is a long-standing technique of
preserving a valuable historic structure. |
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Matyiko speaks as a third-generation house mover. His grandfather
started the company in the 1950s on the East Coast. Today, five
brothers run the company’s two offices based in Virginia Beach,
Va., and in Defiance, Mo. Expert House Movers started moving houses
in the St. Louis area in 1994 and now moves or raises an average
of two houses per week.
One house he recently raised, and not razed, sits at the corner
of Adams Avenue and Harrison in Kirkwood. Harrison House was built
in 1865 and was a prime “tear-down” candidate until Sharon and John
Williams, Kirkwood residents, stepped in. John’s mother, Phoebe
Williams, is a member of the Kirkwood Historical Society and heard
the house was about to be knocked down when she told her son and
daughter in-law.
The Williams’ soon bought the house without any experience in historic
renovations. “We have been disappointed with the number of tear
downs in the area over the years,” says Sharon Williams who has
overseen much of the work. “Lately we are seeing more of an effort
to save and renovate historic homes in Kirkwood, and we wanted to
be part of preserving the community.”
Williams says the City of Kirkwood got the home on the National
Register as the first step and then she applied and received both
state and federal tax credits. Extensive renovations have taken
place for more than a year.
As part of those renovations, a new foundation had to be poured.
That’s where Expert House Movers came in and literally raised the
home off the ground using hydraulic lifts while a new nine-foot
basement was dug and new foundations were built for about $50,000.
The historic Harrison Ave. home has also received new wiring, heating
and air conditioning, plumbing, and roof, in addition to interior
updates. General contractor Curtis McCracken says although the cost
of the exterior and interior renovations is about $350,000, it’s
considerably less than tearing down the home and building a new
one. McCracken says this home was definitely worth saving.
A grand opening Christmas party is set for December to show off
the renovations. By law, The Williams’ have to hold onto the house
for five years and have a renter who is set to move in after the
party.
Expert House Movers is often called in to move a home from one location
to another usually because the home is in the way of new land development
such as shopping centers, new home developments or in the path of
highways. One such case involved a challenging move last winter
during a snowstorm when Matyiko and his crew moved a home built
in 1840 in Creve Coeur. The two-story home was an awkward t-shape
measuring 50 feet wide and 85 feet long, including five fireplaces
and a lot of stone and masonry. Because a shopping center development
was being built on the site, the City of Creve Coeur elected to
move the home to a park at Olive and Mason. The cost? Maytiko says
he charged by the weight of the house, which was 200 tons at $600
per ton. For smaller homes, they charge $14-$16 per square foot.
Maytiko believes the increase in saving historic homes through relocation
will continue for various reasons. “Because new construction is
so expensive, people are finding out that moving and renovating
a home is often cheaper than tearing it down. Also, many historic
homes are often in the way of progress due to so much new land development.
Yet, many structures are worth saving and tax credits help with
the process.”
Both Matyiko and The Williams’ say they hope the trend of homes
being raised instead of razed continues to grow.
Laurie Burstein is a St. Louis-based free-lance writer. |
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