The Simon Benson House Moving Project

The Simon Benson House located on the campus of Portland State University is not only a fine example of Queen Anne style architecture, but is also considered as one of the historic sites of Portland, Oregon. The house built around 1900 by Mr. Simon Benson was originally located at a different location, a few blocks away from its present site. After a joint decision by various parties-at-interest, the house was moved from its old location to the PSU campus during the winter of 2000 by Emmert International, a heavy-equipment-moving company. Our objective is to examine the project of moving the Simon Benson House from Emmert’s perspective. The various factors involved in the move, from project conception to termination are considered. We have conducted interviews with people involved in the project, as well as document searches of organizations, companies, agencies and local news, analyzed building permits, project progress reports, variance reports, scheduling charts, communication records and other project-related documentation from private as well as public agencies. The following is an analysis of the project in relationship to project management principles outlined in the Portland State University Department of Engineering and Technology Management EMGT 545/645 Project Management course. Our conclusion is that the project was completed to the full satisfaction of cost, schedule and performance targets