More than 8,000 structures are moved each year, due to development, environmental hazards and historic preservation, according to Tammie DeVooght Blaney, executive director of the International Association of Structural Movers. Industry leaders estimate that high-end, single-family homes at 4,000 square feet or greater account for about only a dozen of these moves annually. — The Wall Street Journal
Oceans are rising, hillsides are collapsing, and low-lying neighborhoods are flooding, so what are rich people doing? Relocating, of course.
The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the logistically complex world of McMansion-moving, profiling a series of contractors and building movers who reposition giant homes for a living.
The reasons why homeowners decide to move their homes varies, but one thing is for sure: It's not cheap. “The more logistical issues involved in the move, the greater the costs, the more you need to prove the value of the house,” John Clegg, president of the Texas Association of Structural Movers, told The Wall Street Journal, adding, “Ninety-five percent of people who reach out to us don’t do the move. It’s just too expensive.”
5 Comments
in this neck of the woods, it's not uncommon to lift and set aside a historical structure to build several underground levels and then put back the old cottage. what's a million or two in the grand scheme of things?
The materials in the main image are too permanent to be part of a McMansion. I think an argument could be made that the house in the WSJ article is also not a McMansion. So aside from the desire to get some clicks, how is this article related to McMansions?
Some real badass people who move real mansions, not mcmansions: http://reserections.com/index.html
The photo is either a vintage house that's being relocated, or a thoughtfully designed contemporary traditional house. Hardly a "McMansion", at least as I understand the term.
A McMansion is a shoddy, over sized, and ill-proportioned house. This is a fragment of an attractive and well built building.
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