(This story was updated to add new information and because an earlier version of a photo caption included an inaccuracy.)
To save an old Dublin home, developers first gutted it. Then, on Friday, they rammed 10 steel beams through its sides, sliced the home from its floor joists and ripped it from its foundation.
On Wednesday, they'll do the same to a neighboring home.
It's an elaborate, and expensive, ritual required to preserve and expand the homes, in Historic Dublin just south of the Bridge Park neighborhood .
"This is far more complicated than a new build," said Andrew Sarrouf, a partner with his brother, Anthony, and Esteban Ceron in TriLux Homes, which owns the homes at 17 and 27 N. Riverview St.
The partners didn't want to lift the homes, which sit on the west side of the Scioto River next to land slated to be redeveloped into a district called Riverview Village. TriLux paid $550,000 each for the homes a year ago with the hope of demolishing and replacing them, or at least substantially changing them.
"We thought we could buy, expand and sell for $1.5 to $1.8 million, and exit in 12 or 18 months," said Andrew Sarrouf. "Little did we know."
Why are the Dublin homes being moved?
Dublin officials, however, wanted to preserve the homes in their original appearance and shells, forcing the partners to pivot.
In a Saturday statement, Dublin said "the city’s intent for these properties was always clear and transparent from the very beginning" and cited the city's request for proposals when it originally auctioned the properties.
Among the goals in the RFP were to "preserve the historic nature and mass of North Riverview Street" and "rehabilitate/renovate/redevelop the properties … so that they can contribute to the beauty of Historic Dublin."
Working with Dublin architect Richard Taylor, TriLux partners negotiated with the city for months before settling on an unusual plan. They would preserve the homes and add to them, including a garage.
But the structures, but around 1890 and 1920, weren't sound enough to anchor renovations. The foundations in particular were shot; the older home was largely resting directly on the ground.
More: Home with ties to Dublin's founding family listed for nearly $3 million
Taylor and TriLux came up the idea of moving the homes, and digging a deep basement under an addition, even under the garage, to maximize the size.
So on Friday, the Zanesville firm Dingey Movers pulled one home off its foundation, and moved it about 25 feet away. On Wednesday, they plan to do the same to the second home.
"We've never been exposed to anything like this," said Anthony as he surveyed the first moved home on Friday.
What does it take to move a house?
Moving the homes cost about $100,000, he said. But that's not half the total expense in keeping the homes.
The homes have been gutted - no drywall, floors or mechanics. In the older home, only the frame can be preserved, and some of that will need replacing.
"It's rotted throughout," said Ceron. "We have to replace some studs piece by piece."
As Taylor put it, "the only thing left is firewood."
The home must end up looking the same, though, requiring the team to find a custom lumber company in Cleveland capable of milling the same wood siding.
In the 1920-era home, the windows can be salvaged but must be restored, down to their old-style rope-and-weight mechanics. Anthony estimates each window will cost $3,000 to restore.
TriLux plans to dig a deep basement to finish, boosting the living spaces of each home from about 1,600 square feet to about 4,700 square feet.
The partners hope to move the homes back onto the new foundations in a month or two, and finish them by April or May.
"We were made aware by pretty much everyone how hard this would be," Andrew Sarrouf said. "I hate to admit, but all the back-and-forth with the city got us to a good place."
jweiker@dispatch.com
@JimWeiker
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Historic Dublin homes gutted, moved, as part of restoration
Local News
Comments / 0