TUPELO — Tupelo leaders have been told relocating the historic Spain House will cost 62 percent more than originally estimated.
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports that Kosciusko House Movers submitted a bid of $161,454 to move the century-old structure from its current location to a vacant lot several blocks.
City officials on Tuesday opened the bid.
Kosciusko House Movers had earlier estimated the cost at $100,000 but that figure didn’t include a litany of items — including utility line relocation and tree removal — that appeared in the official bid.
The bid process was the last step before the Mississippi Department of Archives and History authorizes a $175,000 grant for relocating the house.
City council members didn’t immediately accept the grant, which has sat on the table for weeks, because it wanted an official bid first.
The city council expects to discuss the issue next week.
In the meantime, the Tupelo Historic Preservation Commission will try to reduce costs.
The century-old Spain House has served as a home, a funeral parlor and an office suite before being purchased by the church several years ago.
It’s now vacant and in disrepair. Calvary Baptist Church doesn’t want the house and has given the city and the Tupelo Historic Preservation Commission two years to move it. The deadline expires Oct. 1.
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