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Historic church's move has stalled

The transfer of Holy Cross Catholic Church from Alston Avenue to the corner of Fayetteville and Formosa streets stalled in front of the North Carolina Central University student union Saturday.

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DURHAM, N.C. — The transfer of Holy Cross Catholic Church from Alston Avenue to the corner of Fayetteville and Formosa streets stalled in front of the North Carolina Central University student union Saturday.

The building is being relocated to make room for the construction of a nursing school. In its new location, next to N.C. Central’s Shepard House, it will be used as meeting space for the university and the community.

The process started on Friday, when the Blake crew took the structure about a half-mile across campus to the corner of Nelson and Fayetteville streets. The final two-block move up Fayetteville Street to Formosa Street was to take place Saturday but the work took longer than anticipated.

A campus spokesperson said the church will remain in place until next weekend, when utility crews will cut power to about a dozen nearby homes so power lines can be moved out of the way of the church as it progresses up Fayetteville Street, officials said.

The one-room church, which measures 70 feet by 35 feet, was lifted from its foundation earlier in the week and placed on a platform of steel beams for the move. Blake Moving Co. of Greensboro used 12 two-axle dollies, each of which has eight wheels and a hydraulic jack, to move the church.

"All of the dollies are self-propelled," said Mike Blake, owner of Blake Moving. "I stand there with a joystick (to control the dollies), and the building moves."

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