It’s only moving across the alley but McDougall House is being relocated to make way for a new development.
The women’s residential addictions treatment facility has been located at 111th Avenue and 108th Street for 25 years. Now it is moving a few hundred feet across an alleyway and onto a new lot.
Executive director Laurie DeGrace said the plan to move the structure was made to save time.
“It’s moving, fully furnished, onto the new foundation,” DeGrace said. “So it’s much faster than building a new house.”
The 3,800-square-foot house was lifted off the foundation and loaded onto a truck Monday afternoon. The actual move was to take place Tuesday night after power lines were removed to make room for the two-storey structure.
DeGrace said once the building is on the new foundation, they will be doing a few renovations and upgrades to the space before re-opening in the late summer or early fall.
“The benefit to McDougall House is that we move off the main drag of 111th Avenue and onto a bigger property so that we have more outdoor space,” DeGrace said.
The group is currently working to fundraise for additional renovations and a possible eventual expansion to the facility. The new lot will give them space to do that, according to DeGrace.
Foreman Doug Schmidt with McConnell Movers said a project like this is challenging despite the short distance. The wet weather hasn’t been helping, he added.
“[The ground] actually still is fairly soft,” Schmidt said. “So that’s going to be our biggest challenge … and the overhead power lines and stuff they are obstructions. But the soft ground is definitely our biggest obstacle.”
It took the seven-person crew two days of preparation to get the 85-tonne building ready for the move.