Instead of turning people’s homes into rubble, Iowa City may begin moving flood-damaged houses to a different location.
The city began demolishing houses last week, but transferring homes may prove to be a cheaper option.
The savings of moving homes as opposed to demolishing them has not yet been determined, but interim City Manager Dale Helling said moving homes could potentially be cheaper.
“Cheaper to whom, I’m not sure,” he noted.
Nonetheless, he said, there is certainly a benefit to not putting material in a landfill, but there is a big “if” in the question of whether a property could even be salvageable.
Jeremy Patterson House Moving has done some house raising on Normandy Drive — workers repaired the foundations underneath the houses and used stilts to elevate them, said David Purdy, Iowa City flood-recovery specialist.
As for physically moving the homes, the City Council has not yet been presented much information as to whether flood damaged homes could be moved, said Councilor Mike O’Donnell.
Other cities in Iowa considering the project include Cedar Rapids, Mason City, and Elkader.
Greg Eyerly, Cedar Rapids’ flood-recovery director, said there are 1,300 homes that are on the list for buyout and demolition. Of those, 118 are in the “greenway” area — an area of flooded homes which the Federal Emergency Management Agency will give the city money to purchase the homes.
Demolition and acquisition of other homes is funded by Community Development Block Grants.
“We see this as a tool that we can potentially save some significant structures,” he said, adding the number of homes that would be relocated would be somewhere between 10 and 20.
Mason City is also exploring the idea with both FEMA and the state.
There are benefits of being able to move homes, said Pamela Mhyre, the growth development and planning director for Mason City.
“It saves the buildings instead of sending them to the landfill which is a very green thing to do,” she noted. “And, we’re all about historic preservation and not taking these properties off of the tax-roll.”
There are roughly 140 homes or buildings in Mason City that would be removed from tax rolls — a list of all taxable properties — if they were demolished.
O’Donnell said the issue of moving homes in Iowa City could be on the council’s agenda in the near future.