Cary’s historic Ivey-Ellington House will soon move to new home. What to know.

Kristen Johnson
The Town of Cary

The Ivey-Ellington House has been on West Chatham Street for about 150 years, where it’s had a front porch view to downtown Cary happenings.

Soon, it will be on the move to a new home to make way for future downtown development.

On the morning of Feb. 20, workers will transport the Ivey-Ellington House from 123 W. Chatham St., around the corner to 308 S. Academy St., which is the site of the town’s former library.

The move is part of a $51 million development agreement between the town, First Baptist Church on South Academy Street and Northwoods Associates that required the relocation of the historic property to make space for commercial, office and retail buildings and a parking deck.

Northwoods Associates, a partnership between George Jordan III and Chatham Street Commercial, has called the development the “Jordan Project.” It’s being built on part of the original home of Henry Jordan, a founding Cary Town Council member in 1871 and who later became mayor, according to Chatham Street Commercial’s website.

The company plans to build:

  • A 180-unit apartment building.

  • A 50,000-square-foot mixed-use commercial building with office and retail.

  • A 40,000-square-foot building with ground floor retail space.

  • A four-level parking deck with 446 spaces, 222 of which will be owned by Cary

After the Ivey-Ellington House is rehabilitated, it will initially be used as office space for Downtown Park staff. Future use possibilities include a welcome center or a history center, said Gillian White, the town’s Historic Preservation Program Manager.

Historic designation

The Ivey-Ellington House is one of four Cary properties listed on the National Register for Historic Places.

Built in the early 1870s, the earliest known occupants of the home were Thaddeus and Mary Esther Downes Ivey, who owned it from 1893-1898. Them, J. Harrison Ellington owned the home from 1918 to 1946, according to the Friends of the Page-Walker Hotel, a preservation group in Cary.

The single-family, 2,000-square-foot home may have been used as a rest stop for cattle drives from Chatham County to Raleigh, the Friends said.

In 2008, the house was listed on the National National Register of Historic Places for its distinct Gothic Revival-style features. The white house features pointed windows, a pitched line-roof and a board and batten exterior.

The Ivey-Ellington House is now unoccupied and was most recently used for storage for the town’s Farmers Market before the market moved to 200 E. Chatham St., White said.

The town and the Friends of the Page-Walker have considered what relocating the home would mean for its historic designation, and the possibility of damage to the house.

The move means the house will lose its status on the National Register. But the new location is located in the Downtown National Register District, and the town’s Historic Preservation Commission could push to make it a future landmark.

Items in the Ivey-Ellington House are already out of the home to prepare for the move, White said.

White said the town is working with Wolfe Movers, which has experience moving houses.

“They will be placing steel supports under the house to help stabilize it for the move,” White said. “Cary will be closing down Academy Street, including the sidewalks, removing street signs, removing light poles, and trimming trees to be sure there are no obstacles that could come into conflict with the house during the relocation.”

The relocation of the historic home is not the first for Cary. In 2021, the Nancy Jones House, built in 1803, was moved to make way for the new Sri Venkateswara Temple of North Carolina at 9391 Chapel Hill Road.

What’s the timeline?

On Jan. 9, new site foundation work began at 308 S. Academy St., to prepare for its new occupant.

Here is the scheduled timeline for the move and later rehabilitation, according to the town’s website:

  • Feb. 6-10 — Temporary relocation of smaller trees and the removal of larger trees begins on Academy Street.

  • Feb. 13-17 — Street lights along Academy Street will be temporarily removed and mobile lighting will be temporarily installed. Street features and signed will also be temporarily removed.

  • Feb. 20 — Moving Day: Beginning at 8 a.m., Academy Street will be closed from Waldo Street to Dry Avenue. The street will be open as soon as the possible after the house is moved. The Town predicted around 4 p.m.

  • Feb. 21-24 — Street lights, features and signs will be reinstalled.

  • March-October — Rehabilitation work begins on the Ivey-Ellington House at its new location in accordance with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. This includes the installation of exterior plantings.

More information about the Ivey-Ellington House or the move can be found at townofcary.org.

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