Moving Day--’Put That Big Building Right Over There’

Most people have seen, at one time or another, a house trundling down a street on wheels--being moved from one lot to another. Not too often, though, does one see a 40,000-square-foot, steel-framed building on the move.

It happened last November during Brentwood-based Linpro Co.’s development of the $20-million Valley Corporate Park in Van Nuys. On the 7.46-acre site at 16300 Roscoe Blvd. was a building designed by architect Marcel Breuer in 1954--but in the wrong part of the site to fit into the developer’s plans.

The building was described by a spokeswoman as “a tall one-story--equivalent to a two-story, like a warehouse” but not a warehouse; rather, it is an industrial building with office and production space.

The building was “stripped down to the steel,” in the spokeswoman’s words; walls and floors were removed but the roof was left on. That took 3 1/2 weeks; the actual move took three days. Cost of the transplant was just over $100,000.

Linpro now has four two-story office buildings totaling 157,000 square feet under construction on the site, with completion scheduled for next summer.

Carli Architecture is the park’s designer, with interior space planning by John Wolcott Associates and landscaping by Paul Jordan & Associates. Linpro is acting as construction manager. Interim financing is by Union Bank and the permanent loan by Far West Savings. Leasing agent is Coldwell Banker.