Deal struck; houses to move in Madrona

After dark tonight, a pair of nearly century-old houses will begin a slow tango down a Madrona neighborhood street that is not quite wide enough to fit them.

Under a deal cut earlier this month with homeowners along the route, the 1,900-square-foot houses — traveling at ¼ mile per hour — will pass under a now-cut urban canopy and over a planting strip that used to be home to several trees.

The deal ended an at times tense conflict between a group of homeowners who felt pressured into giving up their parklike canopy and a house-moving company, Nickel Bros., which sought to save and resell two homes that would otherwise be demolished by today to make way for a school expansion.

Neither side appeared completely happy. Nickel Bros. agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to replace the canopy with six new trees and to replant or replace other street trees.

"From the perspective of recycling and reusing the homes, it is a success," said Casjen Cramer, operations manager for Nickel Bros. "From an economic perspective, it's challenging."

But some of the homeowners were still frustrated that their narrow side street, East Howell, was picked instead of the arterial, East Denny. After several months of negotiations, King County Metro estimated it would cost about $150,000 to temporarily remove more than a ¼-mile of overhead bus lines, a bill that would have made the move unfeasible, according to Nickel Bros.

"Metro should be ashamed," said Allie Howard, one of the East Howell homeowners. "I'm so disappointed they couldn't have made it more cost-effective."

Linda Thielke, a spokeswoman for Metro, said the estimate was that high because the proposed route involved a corner with overhead switches and would have required replacing some line. Metro also had staffing concerns because agency staff were involved in preparing for the launch of the Sound Transit light-rail line, she said.

"Everyone was geared up to that July 18 launch," she said. "A lot of our resources were tied up."

Beginning at 10 tonight, the houses, sitting on 18-inch steel girders, will be towed by a pair of trucks that will make a pair of small S-turns on East Howell to avoid other trees.

If the dance of the houses goes well, both should be on new lots in the Madison Valley by morning.

Jonathan Martin: 206-464-2605 or jmartin@seattletimes.com