Jobs to Pack Up and Move Old House

Investor Gordon Smythe has agreed to help dismantle the house on Steve Jobs's Woodside property in California and to attempt to rebuild it in a new location. As part of the deal, Mr. Jobs will contribute US$604,800 to the project, and Mr. Smythe will work to get the reconstruction project under way within five years, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

The money Mr. Jobs is contributing will go to help with the dismantling and removal process, as well as photography.

Mr. Smythe plans to live in the rebuilt house with his family. If he fails to find a new location for the house within the five year window, however, the city can claim historic artifacts from the house such as the flag pole, pipe organ and Spanish tiles.

Mr. Jobs won approval to tear down the house in May following a long legal battle with local preservationists that saw the property as a historic landmark. He has been planning the demolition so he can build a smaller house in the same location.

The house was originally built in 1925 for Daniel Jackling who made his fortune in copper mining. Mr. Jobs lived in the 14 room house in the 1980s, and then later used it as a rental property. It has been vacant and in disrepair for about ten years.

Uphold Our Heritage successfully stopped the demolition in 2006 after claiming Mr. Jobs and Woodside failed to produce documentation showing the house would be more expensive to preserve than to replace. Mr. Jobs gained the Town Council's approval in May with a new proposal that included information showing it would cost over US$13 million to renovate the hosue, but only $8.2 million to level the property and build a new house.

The proposed agreement between Mr. Jobs and Mr. Smythe is set for review by the Town Council on Tuesday.