Four historic 19th-century homes were lifted onto hydraulic jacks and moved through the streets of Hartford, Connecticut on Thursday.
Footage showed residents of the city gathering on the sidewalks to take photos and videos of the more than 125 year old homes being wheeled across different neighborhoods and into their new locations at vacant lots throughout the city.
The houses were lifted off their foundations and moved intact to their new locations, blocking off city streets and causing power outages so that the three-story residences could fit underneath powerlines, according to WTNH.
One house even had to be split in half to be transported from its location on Lincoln Street in the Frog Hollow neighborhood, WFSB reports.
Fortunately, nobody was living in any of the homes – as they had been bought out by LAZ Parking to make room for a new $60million, nine-story parking garage for Connecticut Children’s Hospital.
Hartford, Connecticut residents gathered Thursday to watch four historic homes being moved through the streets
The houses were lifted off their foundations and moved intact to their new locations throughout the city
The hospital currently leases parking space from nearby Hartford Hospital and shuttles workers from off-site at the XL Center, according to the Hartford Courant.
But the new facility will have more than 900 parking spots for patients and staff, and which will also include a restaurant to accommodate staff, patients and their families.
Construction is expected to begin next month, and it is expected to open between October and November, to coincide with the opening of the hospital’s $326million clinical tower.
Connecticut Children’s Hospital ultimately paid about $1million for the relocation of the four homes, while the city contributed about another $3million.
Jim Shmerling, the president and CEO of Connecticut Children’s, said his original idea was to completely demolish the homes – but he learned that they were on a list of historic homes.
He then spoke with members of the Hartford Preservation Alliance, and the two groups collaborated on the plan to move the homes.
‘We had a number of discussions and we want to be a good neighbor and we worked with the community about preserving these historic homes,’ Shmerling said.
‘We got creative to meet their needs and meet our needs. That’s how we got something that is mutually beneficial.’
The move began at around 9am on Thursday, blocking off city streets and causing power outages
The move finally began at around 9am on Thursday, upending J Restaurant & Bar, a family business that has occupied one of the 150-year-old homes for the past 54 years.
‘This is kind of weird,’ Jordan Dikegoros, the owner, told WTNH. ‘It’s our last day of doing any kind of cooking, which is not even happening inside the restaurant.
‘We’re doing egg sandwiches, bloody marys, mimosas outside this morning,’ he said. ‘People can [then] watch the houses go down the street, and then this afternoon we are doing the “last house on the block” party. We are the last building.’
The restaurant, however, will continue to exist – though details about its new location have not been finalized.
One home even had to be cut in half in order to be relocated
Meanwhile, residents on Putnam Street – which is getting two of the four homes – said they were glad the vacant lots are being filled.
‘I’m intrigued, I like it,’ Nehemiah Lewis told NBC Connecticut. ‘I’m happy for the neighborhood. It’ll give us a different look, a different vibration.’
The homes are now set to be renovated over the coming months, with Shmerling noting they may have ‘asbestos, mold or other environmental hazards’ that the hospital and the city will take care of before residents can move in.
But Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam, who lives in the Frog Hollow neighborhood from which the houses are being moved, has spoken out against the project – which was finalized during the previous administration.
The controversial move was done to make room for a new $60million, nine-story parking garage for Connecticut Children’s Hospital
‘It is important to preserve housing, I think. It’s important to invest in historic preservation,’ he said ahead of the move.
‘But to those who view this as an unmitigated win, I am not in your column.’
He said he would have rather the city spent the money on new teachers or youth programs, and had asked for a housing investment fund to create 12 to 15 new home ownership opportunities.
‘What we got instead was a process in which we moved four homes from one location to another,’ the Democrat mayor said.
