North Raleigh "Modernist Home" moves 7 miles to new location

Saturday morning, before dawn, a historic house, designed by a renowned NC State architect was moved to its new location.

It was picked up and moved 7 miles away from where it was. It’s part of a months-long effort to save it from demolition.

The signs are all in place here on Transylvania Avenue with flatbed trucks and backhoes all ready to go. A multi-ton move, now just hours away.

For Melinda Knowles, it’s the moment she’s been waiting for. "Excited, mostly. Excited. Little bit anxious," said Knowles.

The mid-century modern home was relocated next door to the Knowles current house on Delmont Drive.

Getting the home moved to a next door plot has been a process. Knowles laughed, "Yeah, there’s been, just planning the route was so many trips around."

To make the move possible, crews had to cut the home in half, disassembling some parts like a giant lego set and cutting a path down from its current foundation, just off Transylvania Avenue.

"You can see where the excavation was to give us room to bring it down the driveway," said Mike Blake, an estimator with Wolfe House Building Movers.

He says, as home moves go, this has been a piece of cake. "Height is one of the critical factors, because there are telephone lines, limbs, etc. Fortunately, this is a pretty low slung roof," said Blake.

Raleigh couple plans to move mid-century modern home to save it from demolition

The historic home was designed by renowned NC state architect George Matsumoto in 1954. It was slated for demolition, but the Knowles family decided to buy and move it last year, as it’s one of just a handful of Matsumoto homes still standing in the Raleigh area.

Saturday, it’ll be the only one rolling, perched on giant dollies, operated via joystick. Blake explained, "This is the remote control, it controls all the wheels, turning the wheels, it controls all the jacks and the dollies."

The move will start at 4:30 am, before dawn. Movers eventually towing the house seven miles, over several hours, before finally dropping it into place on Delmont drive.

It’s not like it’s going to show up over there and look beautiful right away. It’s going to be several months. Melinda Knowles plans to greet it with a house party.

She said, "We’re having a watch party, we’re going to have fire pits going, and coffee and champagne and crossing our fingers."

A moment months in the making, finally here.

Melinda Knowles says she and her husband still haven’t finalized their plans for the house. They do want to ensure the public will have some access, likely by renting it out as an AirBnb, or making it available to visiting professors at NC State’s School of Design, which Matsumoto helped found.