Goucher College Moves Dorms, Intact, To Make Room For New Buildings

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- There's some heavy lifting underway at Goucher College.

Three buildings housing dormitories are being lifted and moved to another part of campus.

Alex DeMetrick reports, it could be the first of its kind in the world of recycling.

"This is less of an environmental impact, we are re-using, we are recycling, we're re-purposing these buildings," says Goucher Vice President Bryan Coker. "We're preserving these spaces that have been part of our institution for decades."

The first dorm has already been moved 500 feet to its new location.

The second is up off it's original foundation and is on wheels, ready for its move.

The third has some structural damage. It's unclear when it will make the trip.

Goucher used time lapse photography to capture the move of the first building.

If other colleges have tried this, Goucher hasn't heard about it.

"...I've been talked with folks at other institutions and this is unique, and it's really impressive I think," Coker says.

The three dorms are moving to make way for an expansion of new housing for freshmen.

Upper classmen should feel right at home after relocation is completed. That's because each dorm is moving with all of its furniture in place.

And saving old buildings also means saving money.

"To build these buildings new would be double the cost," Coker says.

And the cost of the move is $7.5 million.

Goucher expects the relocated dorms will be ready for students to move into this fall.

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