The last couple of houses arrive in Bradshaw – photo Parker Garlough
York News-Times Reprint
Written by Parker Garlough
Seven houses were moved from York to Bradshaw on Monday.
The houses, which were located near York General Hospital, were loaded onto trucks and driven to West Fulton Street in Bradshaw. The trucks had to move slowly, so it took over an hour to get from one town to the other.
York House Enters Bradshaw Lot
York General Hospital planned to purchase the land for an expansion project, which it could not complete while the houses were there. They had originally planned to demolish them, but developer Brandon Skelton had another idea.
“It was a good deal for me … these are really nice houses,” he said.
Above: The last couple of houses arrive in Bradshaw – Park Garlough photo
The largest house, which has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, is on an individual lot. The developer, Brandon Skelton, plans to spend two months renovating it and then sell it. He expects that the house will go for about $350,000, noting that a similarly sized house on the same street recently sold for $390,000.
“I already got the basement frame, so it’s going to go quick,” Skelton said. “We already have this house, like, three-quarters of the way ready.”
Tuesday, the house will be removed from the truck and placed onto the basement frame.
Six basement frames have been built in a Bradshaw lot, and a house will be placed on each of them – Park Garlough photo
The other six houses will be placed on one lot and rented out as apartments. They will take longer to renovate — Skelton estimated they would be available for tenants in February.
It has been a long process since Skelton first decided to purchase and move the houses. That decision happened a little over a year ago, he said. For the past three months, his team has been preparing the houses for the move.
A truck descends the slight hill to enter the lot where the six apartments will be placed – Park Garlough photo
The relocation was, for the most part, successful and without incident.
“It’s actually going really smoothly so far,” Skelton remarked.
However, turning corners produced slight obstacles, especially with the largest house.
Employees of the moving company remove a panel from a pickup truck so they can place it on the grass where the house-transporting truck will drive – Parker Garlough photo
The truck was too long to turn without driving over the curb and the corners of people’s lawns. To rectify this, employees of the moving company laid out panels to smooth the pathway over the curb and avoid tearing up residents’ grass.
House Hits Tree in Bradshaw
Additionally, while completing a turn, one side of the largest house collided with the branches of a tree. Village Clerk Stephanie Metzger asked people to prepare to cut off the tree branches after getting permission from the homeowner. However, that was not needed. The house was not visibly damaged by the collision.
The back corner of a house makes contact with a few tree branches – Parker Garlough photo
Resolving Tree Incident
For Metzger, although the process was nerve-wracking at times, it also brought satisfaction once it was completed.
“That was one of those ‘hold your breath’ moments,” Metzger said with relief as the first of six houses arrived at the apartment lot.
Bradshaw residents await the incoming houses – Parker Garlough photo
Many Bradshaw residents were intrigued by the process and planted themselves on nearby sidewalks and yards to watch.
“You don’t see that every day,” one Bradshaw resident remarked.
A truck driver, who is transporting one of the houses, looks back at the road behind him.
A safety official gives a house-transporting driver the go-ahead to cross the road where it intersects with Highway 34 – Parker Garlough photos
