House soon waves goodbye to Esplanade Avenue

San Francisco Chronicle/SF Gate/Peter Fimrite, 4/19/16. "Pacifica 'dream house' getting a lift away from eroding cliff."

Move the house, build a new porch,
hopefully salvage the investment.

"The three-bedroom, 910-square-foot beach bungalow at 532 Esplanade Ave. is just down the street from two apartment buildings that had to be demolished after the hillside underneath them eroded away during El Niño storms this winter. Pacifica declared a state of emergency in January after rain and big surf pounded the cliffs along Esplanade, causing big chunks of dirt to break away and crash into the ocean.

Melissa McConnell (homeowner with her husband Tom) said waves rolled over the 25-foot-tall rock barrier laid to protect the cliff below her from erosion. The surf wore away the cliff, causing her back patio to crack away. The house, built in 1949, was left teetering on the edge.

A company specializing in house raising — Tony Medeiros-Wacker & Sons — lifted the house off its cement slab Tuesday (4/19/16) onto two 36-foot-long steel girders using 10 hydraulic pumps, which averaged about 1,000 pounds of pressure each. The plan is to slide the house on a track to the edge of the property line near the sidewalk over the next two days, where it will sit until McConnell and Wilson can figure out a permanent location."   Read article.

Related articles. The Mercury News/San Mateo County/Aaron Kinney, 4/19/16, "Pacifica: precarious home moved from edge of cliff." .... "By Thursday (4/21/16) the workers will have moved the house 20 feet to the east. After that temporary relocation, Melissa McConnell and her husband, Tom, will try to buy a vacant lot nearby and have the house moved there permanently."  KRON4/Vince Cestone and Dan Kerman, 4/19/16, includes news video 2:38 minutes, "Pacifica house being moved due to eroding cliffs." ....“The inside of the house, it’s made with heart of redwood studs,” McConnell said. 'When we took it down to the studs when we remodeled it, we were amazed the whole house smelled like redwood. They don’t make houses like this anymore.' "

Note Google 2016 photograph from Realtor.com.  "Overview: 532 Esplanade Ave is a Single family located in West Edgemar-Pacific Manor, CA, in San Mateo county. Built in 1949, this property was last sold for $270,000 in 2009 and currently has an estimated value of $704,162. The median price for this area is $800,000."  Google map,  532 Esplanade Avenue is located south of the West Manor Drive Post Office.  

Posted by Kathy Meeh