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Four sites now considered for Deutsch House move

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By Kurt Allemeier | Thursday, March 20, 2008 | 5 comment(s)

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An engineer and an architect have narrowed the possible sites to move the Deutsch House from 14 to four, a committee charged with saving the residence from demolition heard Thursday.

Bill Ashton, an engineer who is leading the Friends of the Deutsch House, with architect Fred Ebeling visited all of the potential sites before winnowing the possibilities to four. Ashton declined to identify two of the sites, but two were identified during the committee’s meeting Thursday at Davenport City Hall.

Three contiguous lots at Kirkwood Boulevard and Grand Avenue, owned by Neighborhood Housing Services, and a lot near 13th Street and Grand Avenue were the two sites identified.

Purchase prices of the other two were why they weren’t identified, committee member Fritz Miller said.

“You don’t want to tell people where you are looking because the price will go up,” he said.

At least one nearby resident of the site at Kirkwood and Grand is opposed to putting the house there because it currently serves as green space, Brook Upton, of Neighborhood Housing Services, said. Her agency will try to work with the neighborhood association to set up a meeting of area residents to get a sense of whether putting the house there is acceptable. She hoped a meeting could be set up within 10 days.

Two moving companies, both with experience moving brick churches and located in Iowa, will be sent bid packages, Ashton said. A bid package would include foundation dimensions and construction as well as possible routes to be used.

The side and rear porch would have to be removed before the house is removed, then reattached to the house at its new location. A total cost of the project hasn’t been determined.

“You reach a decision and then get funding,” Ashton said. “Don’t fit a decision to funding.”

Friends of the Deutsch House wants to take possession of the historic home at 1201 Main St. from St. Paul Lutheran Church, which had announced plans to demolish it at a recent Davenport City Counil meeting. The home, built in 1906 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, sits on the church’s campus on Brady Street.

Davenport Alderman Bill Boom, 3rd Ward, suggested putting together a checklist so people outside the committee would know where the project stands.

“There are doubters out there who still think we aren’t going to pull this off,” he said. “If we have a checklist, we can point out we have 50 percent, 75 percent done.”

Ashton told the committee that its work is more than 50 percent complete.

Kurt Allemeier can be contacted at (563) 383-2360 or kallemeier@qctimes.com.