Two "Unwanted" Historic Homes Moving to Altadena
About three months ago, I mentioned that moving a house slated for demolition was good common sense. It used to be common practice.
Six months after the fires, less than a hundred permits for replacement housing have been approved - far short of the thousands needed. Rick Caruso has been publicly scolding city officials over the red tape and inertia (and whatever you may think of Caruso, he’s not wrong about that).
Moving a house in good condition keeps it out of the landfill while clearing the existing lot, and can save a lot of steps when replacing a lost home. With California having a builder shortage, tariffs affecting the cost of materials, and the city and county having so much red tape and taking as long as they do to get anything done, it really doesn’t make sense NOT to save a well-built older home.
Kathleen “Before the 101” Perricone reports that 2919 St. George (which previously moved in 1948 due to freeway construction) and 1853 Taft are moving to Altadena, with help from house mover Brad Chambers and Morgan Sykes Jaybush of Omgivning (if you don’t yet recognize the name, Omgivning are known for their wonderful adaptive reuse projects).
If you are aware of a historic home slated for demolition, please reach out to Kathleen at Kathleen.perricone@gmail.com - she has a running list. (If any developers happen to see this, think of donating that “unwanted” house as a way to avoid the hassle and expense of demolition.)