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Historic home may open door to demolitionHouse free to anyone who will save it from razing by moving it to a new lot Thursday, August 03, 2006BY KRISTEN ALLOWAYStar-Ledger Staff Four-bedroom, 1,700-square-foot fixer-upper with a history -- Free! Must move to own lot.

Nearly a year after it was trucked a few hundred feet down Changebridge Road in Montville, the 18th-century Albert Zabriskie house has not found a permanent resting place.

Owner Sal Saia was revered in town last summer when he offered to take the Dutch colonial- style home -- which was slated for demolition -- and restore it. The house, built in the late 1700s and named for a once-prominent Montville mill owner, provided a glimpse into the suburban township's agricultural past.

A local historic preservation group and the township helped fi nance the relocation, and a TV crew filmed it for a reality show on cable.

But now, Saia, a retired high school physics teacher and history enthusiast, said the house has become a money pit. He said he must find someone to take it off his hands or he'll have it torn down.

"They can have it for free," said Saia, who is awaiting township approval for his demolition permit. "I'm heart-broken."

Saia, who contributed $20,000 toward the move, estimates he spent another $50,000 over the last year on attorney and engineering fees related to the home.

The final blow came in May, when the planning board denied his request to subdivide his 4.4 acres into three lots -- one for his own home, one for the Zabriskie house and a third parcel for Saia's son to build a home. Saia had hoped to restore the historic home and sell it to recoup his money, he said.

"The money just kept adding up," he said. "You save your life for retirement. You try to do something good, and a big chunk of it goes down the drain."

The home is still propped up on beams on Saia's land because it cannot be placed permanently until he has township approval to parcel his land into at least two lots.

Montville Deputy Mayor Art Daughtry said Saia could get his demolition permit this week.

"It was a good-faith effort on all parties concerned. It just didn't work," Daughtry said of the relocation, which was funded in part with township money. "It's time to move on. It's become an eye sore and a safety hazard."

Saia stepped in last August, when he learned the home's previous owners were building a new home on their lot and planned to raze it. Saia lives in a historic home similar to the Zabriskie house and said he hated to see the township lose it.

Working with the Montville Historic Preservation Review Commission and a local group called Friends of Heritage, Saia and his wife agreed to pay about $20,000 to relocate the house to their property a few hundred feet down Changebridge Road.

The moving company donated $25,000 toward the job's $45,000 cost. The town, which had once considered relocating the house as a public effort, contributed about $12,000 to help pay for dismantling utility lines during the move.

The preparation and move was filmed by the Discovery Channel for a reality show on blue collar jobs.

In hindsight, Saia said, he should have sought the subdivi sion before the house was moved. But he said when he learned the house was to be demolished last year, there was not enough time to appeal to the planning board.

"I scrambled thinking the town would grant me the three lots," he said. "I shouldn't have taken the chance."

In the meantime, local preservationists, who are crushed by the turn of events, are hoping there will be some takers for the home. Saia has not advertised the home but previously had posted two small for-sale signs on it.

"If somebody wants this house, we'd be thrilled if somebody could take it and move it somewhere," said Kathy Fisher, chair of the Montville Township Historic Preservation Review Commission, who worked with Saia on the move. "They'd get the house free."

Saia is not optimistic he will find anyone interested in the home, noting it would cost tens of thousands of dollars to relocate and restore the structure.

But Fisher is hoping.

"The wood, the charm, the individuality, the history -- you can't replace that," she said. "This is our heritage."

Kristen Alloway covers Montville. She may be reached at kalloway@starledger.com or (973) 539-7910.

© 2006 The Star Ledger© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.

It's amazing how fast we take the bulldozer to our history in this country . Usually in the name of the almighty dollar .

I watched them level a crica 1783 house that was lived in until the late 1990's in the Ramapo valley . It was on land that is now the site of about 1200 condo like homes built about 6 feet apart . The sad part is the historic home could have remained standing in the woods about 300' behind the yuppie ghetto. When I asked one of the developers why it had to be destroyed he said " If you were paying $400k to live here , would you want to look at that eyesore ? "

Yeah, that is ashame. Also to think about the value of the historic wood which was used to construct the house. Probably all chestnut. I'm not sure the condition of the house when it was torn down, but historic houses add a sense of character to a town. They could have made it look nice and potentially add value to the community.