After the plan to ship the famous Edith Macefield Up House to Orcas Island has failed, the fate of the Ballard house is floating in the air once again.
Failure to reach the $209,000 fundraising goal which, OPAL Community Land Trust has ended efforts to raise required funds for the project. The funds would initially help move the house to the island, renovate and keep it as a normal residential home. The campaign was able to raise only 9% of the target to be able to move the house across water.
"We were excited by the potential of having Edith's home provide permanently affordable housing, but there were not enough donations to our online campaign or through personal appeals to make this happen," said Lisa Byers, OPAL'S executive director.
The famous house was named after the 2009 Pixar film, "Up" because it is sandwiched between towering buildings near the Ballard Bridge. It is also a symbol for Macefield's fight against demolition in the neighborhood after commercialization has boomed.
Macefield once turned down a $750,000 offer to leave the tiny house. After her death in 2008, the future of the Up House is still floating.
Real estate broker Paul Thomas, who has been managing the property, said that he already has sold it to the owner of the office and shopping center that surround the house in Ballard Blocks. The property owner now is KG Investment Management.
An OPAL Statement stated, "The current owner of the property has offered the opportunity to another interested party in an effort to ensure that the house does not face demolition. The owner is committed to finding a location where the structure can become a home for a local family."
Thomas told Seattle Times, "I do not expect it to be coming down tomorrow, or next month, or even next year."
Do you think another interested party will come and save the famous Up House? Or will OPAL step in again?
