Archive: News

Tuesday morning the house on 30 Peruville Road pulled up its roots and headed to its new home.  The two bedroom stick built house was removed without incident, and by mid-morning was traveling to it's new location at 450 Ridge Road.  "The house here is just so misplaced," says John Dietershagen, who owns the lot with Leo Mahool.  "10,000 cars a day go by this corner and we couldn't get people who wanted to stay in this fish bowl."


While the partners have no specific plan for the three acre property, Dietershagen says the lot is better suited to commercial use than residential.  "This is zoned commercial," he says.  "The best possible use for this property would be a small shopping plaza, a drug store, or bank."

Dietershagen and Mahool aren't the only ones who see commercial potential in the four corners site.  The Connecticut based Drake Petroleum that owns Lansing Xtra Mart is planning an expansion that will triple the size of the convenience store there and add diesel pumps to attract truck traffic.  They plan to remove the current building and equipment, replacing it with a new 4,854 square foot store, three new 20,000 gallon underground storage tanks servicing eight pumps under a 122' x 36' canopy for cars and three diesel pumps under a 41' 24' canopy.  A Dunkin' Donuts is planned for the site with a drive-through window, and pumps will be placed together in an area in front of the store, leaving ample room for parking.


The house had been rented several times, but Dietershagen says that renters didn't like living in what he called a 'fishbowl lot'.  "One gal hung her laundry out on the second day after she moved in," he recalls.  "She realized at the end of the day it was a huge mistake.  She probably had to wash it about two more times with all the road dirt that came up."

With estimates ranging from 10,000 to 16,000 vehicles per day, the commercial potential of the site looks promising.  Town officials say that Drake Petroleum will submit a transportation study that will provide more accurate traffic figures as they develop the Xtra Mart project.  

"Most of us would like a grocery store back here," says Deputy Town Supervisor Bud Shattuck.  "We also would like to have a way to have doctors and dentists here, and and lawyers and other things that we need.  To have professional offices here as you would in any small community and develop them into the center of Town, wherever that center is."


Mahool, who also owns the Lake Watch Inn, and Dietershagen have hosted some parties in the Crossroads building they bought after the restaurant/bar closed.  But they see more potential in the site, and apparently feel strongly enough about it that they gave the house away.  "We knew that we had to get this house off this lot before people would recognize the true potential of this corner," he says.  "Everybody thinks this is a separate lot (from Crossroads)."

At first they thought they'd sell the house, but nobody offered a tangible plan to remove it from the property.  "Then we wanted to donate it to Better Housing and Ithaca Neighborhood Housing," Dietershagen says.  "Those people came out and looked at it and they felt maybe it was too far, they didn't have the land to put it on.  So they declined.  John Mell came along and said I've got a plan to do this.  We said 'we need to get this house off this lot.  It's not doing anybody any good, so if you can pull this off we will give you this house.'"

Mell borrowed $40,000 to build a foundation and move the house.  He bought the lot and began clearing it, then built a foundation.  "The lot was in really bad shape," he says.  "I kept what I could.  I plan on planting more out there.  It's going to be nice when it's all done."

The house was originally built at Cornell, near Cornell Plantation.  It was moved to the Peruville Road location by Dick Pinney, who eventually sold the lot including the Crossroads building to Dietershagen and Mahool.  Pinney will be demolishing the foundation, clearing the way for whatever commercial use the future might bring.  Mell says that some of the grooves cut for steel supports used in the first move had to be enlarged, and new ones cut.  He hired Silverline Construction to provide a crane, and J&S Mobile Home to move the house.

By mid morning the preparations were complete, and the house was lifted off of its foundation and on to a trailer.  Contractors had to wait for NYSEG to protect wires along the route, then set out onto Ridge Road.  Dietershagen says the arrangement was win-win, accomplishing his goals while providing a home for Mell.  "We're very proud of John," Dietershagen  says.  "He's a clever guy."

Mell is happy with his new house, and says it will take three or four weeks of work before he is ready to move in.  Dietershagen is also pleased.  "There is such a need in Lansing for some place that precludes people having to drive over into the traffic by the malls," he says.  "If you could get your prescriptions here, if you could do some banking here, or buy some groceries here...  there is nothing of substance (like that now) in this town."

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