AMHERST — A historic home at 162 South East St., next to Colonial Village Apartments, will be moved to 130 Harkness Road via Belchertown Road on Tuesday evening.

The move is being coordinated by the Roberts Group and its contractor Payne Construction Services Inc. of Stratford, New Hampshire.

People who live along Belchetown Road are being advised that, starting at 8 p.m., they could lose electricity, cable, phone and internet service as the move is in progress. The entire move is expected to be complete by Wednesday at 7 a.m. 

The home being moved is next to three rental homes at 126, 140 and 148 South East St., with a combined 1.55 acres, that have been previously eyed for demolition, possibly to make way for a mixed-use project similar to South East Commons at 133 and 143 South East St. That development is a three-story building with 57 apartments and space for three retailers.

The new site for the home is at the corner of Harkness Road and Route 9.

The Conservation Commission last week approved putting down timber mats at the northwest corner of Colonial Village, in a small wetland, so the moving company will avoid a utility pole as the house makes its way to the road. The mats will be there for about a day.

The area will be seeded and mulched and returned to the current state, based on the commission approval.

Tom Reidy, attorney with Bacon Wilson PC, told commissioners that the movers have already gotten approvals from all utilities and the town.

Other homes in Amherst that Roberts has coordinated moves for in recent years include an Amherst College home on South Pleasant Street, moved to Snell Street in late winter 2021; and two homes on Sunset Avenue, one in the summer of 2022 that moved to North Maple Street in Hadley and the other in the spring of 2023 that moved to West Street.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.