The house is 123 years old and what is most notable about it is what's underneath it. You've got wheels and risers which are there to move the house ever-so-slowly to a new location a few blocks away.
The house is two stories tall and 45 feet deep. On Wednesday morning, the city will be closing down streets so the house can be moved to a new spot on O'Neil. Over the next year, it will be brought back to the condition it was in 1885 and will be home to two families. From what we are told, this is the economical way to go.
"It's actually going to be about $80,000 dollars to relocate the house. Then, when we finish retrofitting and everything else, we figured out it was going to be a more cost-effective means of doing this, rather than building something new," says Ray Davis, Director of Belmont Public Works.
Ralston Street will be closed from 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. tonight. The families which live in the house have not been chosen yet, so there is time and it will be a low income home. However, low income housing for Belmont may not be not the low income we are all thinking of. Low income in Belmont is a family of four making $90,000 a year. Moderate income is $95,000 a year. There is not a whole lot of difference between the two.
What's going to take its place is a brand new business, which is all part of the redevelopment plan in Belmont.
