One of Lakeland’s historic homes was moved on Sunday morning, and hundreds of residents rallied behind it.
The Tudor style home that sat along Lake Hollingsworth was loaded on the back of an 18-wheeler and moved to its new location on Sunday.
Gregory Fancelli paid $500,000 to move the home after the new owner announced plans to tear it down.
“Many folks from past and present in this town have had some sort of story with this house,” Fancelli said. “So there’s certainly a lot going on here. There was a huge backing from the community to have us proceed with this operation, and we decided to step up and do what was right.”
Traffic was shut down in some areas and power lines had to be moved to get the home to its new spot in Dixieland, a few blocks from where it was originally.
The community came out to show their support. Many of them wearing shirts that read, 'Save the Tudor.'
Natalie Oldenkamp lives nearby and said she couldn’t imagine seeing the house demolished.
“This house has been such an iconic part of Lakeland and everybody has always dreamed of living in it whether we could afford to or not,” Oldenkamp said.
Bea Jennings-Eddy was among the crowd that came out to watch as the house was moved.
“I’m just so excited because I walk the lake all the time and I notice this house and I always thought it was a beautiful English Tudor," said Jennings-Eddy. "I’m just excited that someone invested the money to move it.”
The future of the Tudor style home is still up in the air. The owner says he’s considering turning it into an office space or even a bed and breakfast. Either way he says he’s determined to preserve the home.
The part of the home that was left behind was an addition and not apart of the original structure. It will be salvaged for valuable parts and then demolished. The new owner plans to build a brand new home in its place.