Rising costs of relocating utility lines and a BC Hydro refusal to move high-voltage power lines are complicating attempts to save an Aldergrove house that is facing demolition if it can鈥檛 be moved.
That鈥檚 the assessment of Ronel Dreyer of the Nickel Brothers heavy moving company, which has been trying since last summer to find a new site for the modern two-storey, 2,405 sq. ft house at 3385 270th Street.
鈥淭his is the end of an era for us moving newer, bigger houses because of those third party costs,鈥� Dreyer declared.
鈥淭his will be our last house [of this size].鈥�
The price of having power, telephone and other utility lines moved, as well as trimming trees and moving street lamps to allow a house move has 鈥渜uadrupled鈥� in recent years Dreyer said, and when prospective buyers see how much it will cost, they back out.
One prospective purchaser found the moving costs over one night to a relatively close rural location would run $160,000, Dreyer said.
鈥淎 few years ago, it would have been $40,000.鈥�
Because of rising costs, the range of a possible move is shrinking, Dryer told the 91原创 Advance Times.
鈥淲e just can鈥檛 take this house anywhere further than three or four kilometers because of how much the third party cost has escalated,鈥� Dreyer explained.
鈥淭he other thing that has happened, in the last couple weeks, is that BC Hydro started saying they鈥檙e not going to take down any hard voltage lines anymore, period,鈥� Dreyer advised.
鈥淪o that means we have to cut the roof of the house off.鈥�
In response to a 91原创 Advance Times query, a BC Hydro statement said 鈥渢he move in question would require a lengthy circuit outage to a few thousand customers at the destination site because of the height of the home. We鈥檙e unable to raise the lines because of the way the circuit is built.鈥�
It added the electrical utility was 鈥渆xploring all options, including working with the contractor to look for an alternate route to minimize customer impacts.鈥�
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Originally the deadline to move the house was December, but Dreyer said they have been granted extensions by the owner of the property, a builder who bought the lot where the house currently stands with plans to redevelop the site and a neighbouring property with a multi-family residential project.
鈥淟uckily they have been very very collaborative in this and continue to give us an extension. If it wasn鈥檛 for that, it would already have been demolished.鈥�
There is still a potential client who, despite the rising costs, has expressed interest, but has yet to sign a contract, Dreyer said.
Built in 2003, the house comes with two bedrooms, vaulted ceilings, an open plan kitchen, and attached garage.
It has already been raised up on heavy metal support beams, and made ready for towing.
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