Sanxay Gilmore House to remain on site for foreseeable future
Hunter
4/12/19
Plans to move what is believed to be the oldest remaining house in Iowa City’s original city limits have been tabled for the foreseeable future.
The Sanxay-Gilmore House at 109 East Market Street was recently purchased from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church by the University of Iowa with the intention to demolish the house to make way for a planned entrepreneurial center. In the interim, the Church has been leasing the House from the university on a month-to-month basis.
A memo to the City Council from City Manager Geoff Fruin, this week discusses options city staff have been investigating to relocate the house. They believe the most viable site is a small city-owned lot across from Market Street.
Cost to relocate the house and stabilize it on a new site is estimated at about $674,000 with additional rehabilitation expenses potentially adding another $662,000 to the price tag.
The fiscal year 2020 budget has set aside $330,000 for the relocation, and the city would have to discuss how to come up with the additional funds to complete the move.
However, the University recently informed Fruin that they’re no longer planning to demolish the house this summer and intend to continue to lease the property to the church on a month to month basis for a period of up to three years or longer. At that time, the UI indicated that they would again reach out to the City to determine its interest in relocation.
Fruin indicated that city staff will continue to stay engaged with the University on this issue should their plans change in the coming years.
The Sanxay-Gilmore House is believed to have been built in the 1840s by Theodore and Hettie Sanxay shortly after their marriage. Sanxay and his father opened a store in town that eventually relocated to a brick building that still stands at the corner of Clinton and Washington streets.
The Gilmore part of the house name is after Eugene Gilmore, who purchased the house in 1946. He was UI president from 1934 to 1940.