On February 21st, 2021, many San Franciscans were surprised to wake up and see a 140-year old, 4,800 square-foot, single-family house rolling down the street outside their window. The move of the historic Englander house took half-a-day, but was eight years in the making.

When the current owner purchased the Bay Window Italianate Style home in 2013, it was neglected and orphaned among a sea of mid-rises on the busy Franklin Street thoroughfare. After examining several options, the idea of moving the structure ultimately won out as the best way to preserve the structure, but also adaptively reuse it for a higher and better use: multi-family housing on both the original and new sites.

In this presentation, join AIA San Francisco’s Historic Resources Committee as Justin Mikecz with Kerman Morris Architects walks you through the 8-year journey the firm embarked on with their client that ultimately led to transportation of a 80-ton building along San Francisco’s hilly streets to a new home on Fulton Street. He will summarize the conversations and the evaluation of the pros and cons of moving the structure that led to the decision to find a new site for the home and the realization that a second historic structure at the destination site would have to be relocated first. The presentation will emphasize the complexities and permitting challenges that resulted from this decision and will present the final designs for both the Franklin and Fulton Street sites.

Learning Objectives

1. Summarize the inherent complexities involved with moving a historic structure down the streets of bustling San Francisco
2. Identify the permitting requirements and the many jurisdictions and other parties involved with moving a historic structure.
3. Discuss the pros and cons of moving a historic structure vs. preserving it in situ and why the scales were tipped toward moving this building despite the large costs.
4. Analyze the relationship between Historic Preservation, Housing Development, and Environmental Stewardship and identify ways they can work in harmony and potential compromises.

About the Presenter

Justin Mikecz
AIA, LEED AP BD+C, NCARB
Senior Associate | Sustainability Lead
Kerman Morris Architects

A California licensed architect with a 18-year career, Justin has developed a diverse portfolio of project experiences — single- and multi-family residential buildings, mixed-use residential/commercial projects, schools, community centers, and componentized/modular prototypes. Along with this well-rounded experience, he brings to KMA a commitment to high-performance sustainable design; a zeal for collaboration and improving the design and construction processes; and a passion for good, affordable housing design. Since joining Kerman Morris Architects, Justin has been managing some of the larger and more complex projects in the office, including the 807 Franklin/635 Fulton Streets multi-family housing projects.