Aptos Apple Barn Reaches Final Location

By Noel Smith

The future New Leaf Community Market is now in place for the next phase of Aptos Village development. The Kelly Brothers House Movers finished its part of the project as they lowered the last section of the Apple Barn onto its new concrete foundation on Thursday March 2, 2017 after starting its journey on September 22, 2016.

Eight hydraulic 25-ton jacks were used to lower the building onto the foundation. Next to the apple barn, crews were busy putting in a foundation for the last section of the new grocery store, which is next to the planned Village Green.

Howard “King” Kelly, owner of Kelly Brothers and responsible for working with Barry Swenson Builder to safely move the 125-year-old structure into its new location as the centerpiece of the new Aptos Village, said, “This is one of the largest buildings we’ve moved in terms of the square footage it covers. Most of our moves in recent years have been historical and residential in a growing effort to preserve our history in California. But because of the size and condition of the building, I would say yes, this was a challenge.”

From its original use as hay storage and then an apple packing shed, the building spent its next fifty years as the Antique Fair, a collection of sellers of used and antique furniture and interior decorations from its location at the edge of Trout Gulch Road.

Great care was taken to remove false ceilings, partitions, floor coverings and decorative elements that were not part of the three structures that made up the Apple Barn. Then it had to be strengthened and split into two for the trip.

As the building is 181 feet long by 100 feet wide, the move was not a simple task. To move the two sections of the building into the final location, it was rotated 160 degrees and moved a distance of 250 feet in several stages. Kelly said that to be successful, “The mover has to learn to listen to the building as it moves.”

During the next 24 months what was a dusty 8-acre empty lot is becoming Aptos Village. This includes construction of 17 town homes, 40 residential units, new streets called Parade Street, Granite Way and Aptos Village Way, seven buildings that include mixed-use retail and apartment buildings plus a restaurant with residential units above and the renovated Apple Barn and New Leaf Market as a mixed use office/market building. These will be centered around the 16,000 square-foot village common – an outdoor area with trees, bike parking, seating and a stage.

It’s finally happening!