MOUNT DESERT — Whoever buys the house at 112 Beech Hill Road is going to have a bunch of thank-you notes to write.
The one-bedroom house, previously located at 188 Pretty Marsh Road, was donated to the Island Housing Trust. On Tuesday, the nonprofit had the house moved to the new site.
Artist Scott Baltz in 2016 sold the house and the 2.76-acre lot on Pretty Marsh Road on which it sat to 188 Pretty Marsh Nominee Trust. The person who established the trust, who wishes to remain anonymous, offered to give the house to the IHT and pay to have it moved. The structure was assessed for tax purposes last year at $93,100.
Last May, voters at town meeting authorized the town to give the 0.6-acre lot it owned on Beech Hill Road to the IHT so that the donated house could be moved there and used for workforce housing. The assessed value of the lot, which will now go on the tax rolls, is $105,000.
In addition to the actual moving of the house, various components of the relocation project were donated or provided at reduced cost, according to Clara Baker, IHT’s development associate.
“Todd Stanley of Downeast Home Design contributed the design with which [Doug] Gott & Sons built the foundation,” she said. “Peacock Builders donated a portion of their labor cost for carpentry work. Roger St. Amand of Atlantic Resource Co. facilitated a donation of an EnviroFin septic system from Maine Septic and Plumbing. Linda Higgins of L.S. Robinson contributed real estate expertise. And Mike Tadenev at Eaton Peabody provided free legal services.”
The house was moved by D&S Jacking Services and Structure Moving of Northport. Financing for the site construction was provided by Bar Harbor Savings & Loan.
IHT Executive Director Alison Beane said the organization does not yet have a buyer lined up for the Beech Hill Road house.
Whoever buys it must meet IHT’s eligibility requirements. Applicants must agree to live in the house year-round, and at least one member of the household must be employed on Mount Desert Island. Applicants should have a household income of no more than $102,400, which is 160 percent of the median for the area. That percentage is based on federal median income calculations. In screening applicants, the IHT gives preference to first-time homebuyers.
Updated Feb. 26 at 12:01 p.m.
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