Columbia Borough Council is trying to decide what to do with a three-bedroom, one-bathroom house located at 700 Franklin Street. The options: move it, or demolish it. The reason: The 1,500-square-foot home lies in the path of a planned extension of Franklin Street that will lead to the borough’s innovation park. Construction is scheduled to begin next spring. Columbia Borough purchased the property for $229,900 in 2022.
The borough is reconsidering its original plan to demolish the structure because of its condition. “It appears to be a very well-built home. The maintenance is impeccable,” borough engineer Derek Rinaldo told council at the September 10 meeting.
Resident Frank Doutrich said he has looked at the house with an eye toward moving it to a lot he owns at 12th and Franklin Streets, three blocks away.
Steve Kaufhold, representing the Lancaster County Housing Authority, mentioned that the organization is interested in relocating the home. He asked council to hold off on advertising the property until the authority can look at it and make a determination. (Kaufhold was recently hired as Columbia’s new borough manager.)
Rinaldo raised concerns about whether South 9th Street is wide enough to accommodate transporting the house. (An alternative would be to use an adjacent section of Franklin Street leading to Plane Street.) If relocation is not possible, the borough would need to cover a demolition cost of around $20,000. Borough solicitor Evan Gabel added that the borough would need to allocate about $500 for advertising the home’s sale.
Rinaldo urged council members to decide on the home’s fate by the end of October in order to have a plan in place before road construction begins. Rinaldo also said any sale would have to go through a bidding process.
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Columbia Spy 