Free houses giveaway in Colorado Springs hits snag

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The high costs and challenges associated with moving two downtown 1900-era houses have slowed the effort to give them away for free, the developer involved said Monday.

Kevin O'Neil, of the O'Neil Group Company, said that two sites have been offered for moving the houses -- including an unspecified location on 8th Street -- but the moving company can't transport the structures to those locations because of street lights, bridges and other obstructions.

Mammoth Moving and Rigging, Inc., of Parker, is believed to be the only company in the state that can move houses, but the the cost can be as high as $100,000, according to some estimates.

Mammoth was unavailable for an interview Tuesday but a spokesperson told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that the company considered the possibility of moving the houses, on West Costilla Street near the Olympic and Paralympic Museum, a month ago.

KRDO reported in October that O'Neil wants to give the houses away to avoid demolishing them, to make room for a 25-story apartment and office complex.

"We are really struggling with having a viable project to give those houses away," O'Neil said. "We're absolutely looking at the nonprofits, first and foremost, to be able to give them the houses. If all else fails, we'll look at individuals or other businesses besides nonprofits."

While some critics might say that O'Neil only wants to give the houses away to avoid the cost of tearing them down, the Mammoth spokesperson doesn't see it that way.

"Tearing down a house costs only a fraction of what it would cost to move it," the spokesperson said.