Developer moves home built in 1921 to new location blocks away

ORLANDO, Fla. (FOX 35 WOFL) - You may never have seen a "mobile home" like this.

Workers raised an entire house off its foundation to move it down the street. 

It all started early Sunday morning with dozens of workers beginning to move the house near Lake Eola.

“Somebody must have a lot of investment into this home to care enough to move it,” marveled Ryan Allen, who lives in the Eola Heights neighborhood.

That person is developer Mark Kinchla. 

He thought the house, which was built in 1921, was too nice to just tear down. 

“It's just being part of the neighborhood and understanding how much these people really do take pride in their historic district, and the fact that if you can contribute something, it's well worth it,” he said.

It was an almost surgical procedure. 

Workers lowered powerlines, laid down metal plates to roll the house over and had to maneuver it around utility poles and street signs. 

Kinchla said it cost between $80,000 and $90,000 to get the house moved.

“With all the line-dropping and everything else,” Kinchla said, “it's more of you only go around once in life, and if you can do something really cool, why not?”

That sits well with Peggy Mann, who watched the move with her husband. 

Her family has been in Orlando for four generations and has seen lots of change. 

“You're gonna see it in another location, so I don't think it's a terrible devastation,” she said.

Kinchla plans to build five luxury townhomes on the empty lot. 

When the old house is settled on its new site, the developer plans to live there himself. 

Mann says, it's progress. 

“It'll be places for people to reside, make a new home for themselves, and I think it's wonderful.”

Kinchla waved from the door once the house got moved onto the new lot a couple of blocks away. 

It will stay jacked up there for several weeks, while they install a new foundation.