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20 Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine VO L . X X X I I N O. X I X owner and was later occupied by several different businesses over the years, including an optom- etrist and a lawyer. Big move across a short distance Copp & Sons Building Movers — a 70-year-old family-owned business based in Cumberland — trucked the house, in two trips, to its new lot about one-third of a mile away at 5 Chandler St. e move itself, on an early Sunday, May 31, took just under two hours. "e Copp family actually made the challenge fun," Parkhurst said. "It's an incredible family busi- ness. We never had a contract, just word of mouth." Parkhurst added he had "nothing but coopera- tion" from the city and the state. "About a week before the move, we had a teleconference with 15 or 16 people to iron out every detail. "We had to take down electrical lines and signs; streets had to be closed. It had to be on a Sunday, and couldn't be a holiday. And then the state rep asked, 'What's the backup plan?' ere was silence for about 30 seconds; I had nothing to say. en Pete Copp says, 'ere's no backup plan, we do this every day.'" Pricey undertaking Parkhurst bought the house from Kennebec Savings Bank for a price he prefers to keep confi- dential, and purchased the lot on Chandler Street from the bank too. e project was not inexpensive, but Parkhurst said he didn't flinch at the cost. "I wanted that house," he said. "I didn't dicker on the price." Once the house has been restored, which is his plan, he figures the project is likely to total close to $750,000. "Prepping the house for the move ran about $175,000," he said. "e move itself, with auxiliary costs, was around another $150,000." Parkhurst is retired and lives in Readfield. He co-founded O&P Glass, which is based in Augusta and run by daughter Soo Parkhurst. He doesn't plan to live in the house or subdi- vide it into apartments. "I plan to restore the house to its original splen- dor," Parkhurst said. "e house is so beautiful. Once we put it on the lot, we noticed you can see the capitol building from three of the rooms." In the meantime, it's for sale "to the right inter- ested party," Parkhurst said. "I don't expect to lose money on it. Someone will fall in love with this building." T i n a F i s c h e r , M a i n e b i z s t a f f w r i t e r , c a n b e r e a c h e d a t t f i s c h e r @ m a i n e b i z . b i z » C O N T I N U E D F RO M PA G E 1 8 MONTHLY MEDIAN HOME PRICES, 1 2010–25 1 Sales of existing single-family homes, based on real estate broker transactions. S O U R C E : Maine Real Estate Information System Inc. $450K $425K $400K $375K $350K $325K $300K $275K $250K $225K $200K $175K $250K $125K $100K $75K $50K $25K $0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Q UA L I T Y O F L I F E P H O T O / DAV E D O S T I E The move involved coordination with multiple local and state officials. The house was settled onto a new foundation at 5 Chandler St. in Augusta, just one-third of a mile from its former location.

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