Manager says building move worth high price

When Dr. Rao and Kanta Kondur purchased property next to their Park West Drive Best Western hotel, they simply wanted to build another hotel.

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But what were they going to do with the 4,000-square-foot office building already sitting on the site?

They decided to move it.

"It is really unreal," Mrs. Kondur said as she saw the building slowly hauled off the lot.

The Kondurs and Best Western Manager Billy Johnson knew the building needed to go but wanted a more environmentally friendly option than demolishing it and hauling it to a landfill.

Dr. Kondur and Johnson researched their options and found that they could simply have the building moved to 4330 Wrightsboro Road, a piece of property the Kondurs bought, cleared and prepared a foundation on about a half-mile away.

They hired J.E. Oswalt and Sons, a Batesburg, S.C., company, to move the building.

"This is what we do everyday," company President David Oswalt said.

Once a foundation at the new site was ready, the utilities disconnected and a power pole moved, the building was ready for its journey.

The crew slowly moved the building, on a large trailer pulled by a truck, along Park West Drive to C.D.P. Industrial Boulevard and up Wrightsboro Road. The move was slow-going as the crew worked constantly to replace support boards beneath the truck tires and maneuver around obstacles, including curbs low power lines, but was finished in just a few hours.

"It is amazing isn't it?" said Johnson.

Though the move was more environmentally friendly, Johnson said it ended up being a lot of leg work and didn't save any money. It cost about $150,000 to move the building, but Johnson said he liked that the owners thought "outside of the box" and hoped the Kondurs' move would encourage others to make similar choices.