NORWAY – While town officials and others mull whether they want or can afford to take over ownership of the so-called Gingerbread House on Main Street, the big question remains: Can the building be moved?

State historic preservationists say it probably can be, but ask at what cost.

“Many, many large buildings have been moved. But it’s not common in Maine,” said Scott Hanson, preservation compliance coordinator with Portland’s Planning and Development Department. “We’ve not had to deal with relocating any large structures here in Portland at least since the 1960s.”

Norway’s Evans-Cummings House, more commonly known as the Gingerbread House, built on Main Street in 1855 and remodeled between 1885 and 1892, remains a prominent landmark in Norway’s downtown National Historic District. But now its owner, the Sun Media Group, owner of the Sun Journal, says the house must be moved or it will be demolished. It has been offered to the town at no cost, with the stipulation it be moved elsewhere.

Ed Snook, treasurer of Sun Media Group, said he has not looked into the cost of moving the building. But state preservationists and those in the business of moving large, historic homes say the costs can be exorbitant and the ability to move the building depends on many factors.

“A number of years ago the University of Maine relocated a substantially sized 19th-century barn that was built as an agricultural experiment station,” said Kirk Mohney, assistant director and deputy state historic preservation officer with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission. The building had a slate roof and was moved in one piece a short distance. “It was both large and heavy,” Mohney said.

More recently, however, efforts in Augusta to move a two-story Greek Revival house – built in the 1840s and threatened by new development – were unsuccessful, even though the house had been determined to be technically moveable.

“From what I gathered, you could move it as one piece,” said Mohney of the 40-by-40-square-foot Gingerbread House. “You could even keep the two-story ell on it. Technically getting it up on something and moving it is not a problem. The issue would be the overhead utilities and the width of the street and the size of the lot it was going to. That all would raise the cost,” Mohney said.

Mohney added that one difficulty might be the structure’s tower, but if the height and width of the building were an issue, it could be taken in pieces. That would, however, have “much more impact on the historic fabric” of the structure, he said.

Because the building is listed on the National Historic Register, any move outside of the Main Street National Historic District would affect the Gingerbread House’s standing in the national register. The state might require a new application be filed to maintain historic status, listing the building as an individual structure. “Where it was moved is something we would have to look at,” Mohney said. “We could consider an individual application,” if the building has enough historical significance on its own.

Don Jewett, vice president of Jewett Builders in Pittston, said the cost of a move would depend largely on the obstacles.

“It’s logical to choose a site nearby,” Jewett said. “Overhead lines, phone and power are all obstacles put in our way.”

Jewett noted that the cost of the move is often as much as the cost of a house, and can be a losing proposition because of it.

In a “normal” move, Jewett said he would find a spot above the second floor and make a lateral cut around the perimeter, rig the upper floor with steel and hoist it on a crane to the ground where it would be loaded on dollies.

If the building is too large to get down the street, a side porch could be removed or the house could even be cut into sections. But doing so could increase the cost of the move considerably, and might severely compromise the historical integrity of the building, Jewett said.

By comparison, Jewett said his company moved a 45-by-72-foot-wide house with two large fireplaces onto a nearby site at a cost of $250,000.

Costs are also reflected in whether there is room around the site for the equipment on both ends and whether there is room to set up a crane to lower the top floor down, Jewett said. A simple move involving, for instance, a straight-forward Cape and lowering the roof down, could cost between $35,000 to 40,000. If there is masonry involved, such as chimneys, the costs goes up.

Sometimes there is enough money, but not enough time, he added.

Jewett said he recalled a large 1800s, two-story house in Augusta that had to be moved to make way for a new Walgreens pharmacy. Time, not money, was the issue that made that move unsuccessful. Augusta, he said, had a demolition delay ordinance in place, but the house was eventually torn down. “The developers gave a strict time limit to clear the site. It didn’t allow enough time to pull a plan together. That’s always a deal-breaker,” Jewett said.

Norway does not have a demolition delay ordinance, although there has been talk about passing one at a future town meeting.

Even if a move were successful, however, the new owner would then face expensive restoration costs.

Whether state or federal preservation funds might be available to restore the building is questionable, Mohney said.

In November, voters passed a $2 million Century Fund, some of which will go toward preservation grants to municipalities and nonprofit owners of historic properties.

“The town might also be able to look at other grant sources such as (federal) community block grants. There is one for preservation. Our funding is very limited, but there might be avenues through that source,” he said.