After a false start, a Victorian home on Jackson Street may finally make the move to Benicia, but its hard-luck neighbor may be left behind, housemover Phil Joy said Tuesday.

Denied permission to cross Napa flood district land, Joy plans to haul the two-story home at 711 Jackson to Napa Sea Scout property on Riverside Drive, where it will be put on a barge.

Earlier this year Joy also received permission from the city of Napa to move the adjacent house at 735 Jackson to Benicia, but vandalism and a fire have nixed that plan, he said.

The house at 711 Jackson, which is in better shape, will be relocated to the Benicia waterfront, where it will become his office, Joy said.

Its soulmate from the 1880s has an uncertain future since the prospective buyer in Benicia has backed out, Joy said. The house has deteriorated significantly while sitting empty for the past year, he said.

A fire, presumably started by homeless squatters, caused considerable damage, Joy said. "Firefighters went in there with axes and chainsaws to put the fire out. You can't knock them," he said.

Subsequently, thieves stole windows and parts of the staircase, making the house, which dates from 1885, even less desirable as a restoration project, Joy said.

The city's Cultural Heritage Commission gave Joy permission in January to move both houses out of the city after the owner said he could find no Napa location for them. A nearby business, United Rentals, wants to expand its operation onto the Victorian lots.

Two weekends ago, Joy moved the house at 711 Jackson south on Soscol to the river's edge opposite Sixth Street, next to Napa Valley Wine Train's maintenance facility.

He planned to transfer the house on rails across flood district wetlands to a barge, but district officials killed the idea, saying the move would be environmentally harmful.

Chastised by Napa Flood and Water Conservation District officials for not getting permission, Joy was told to remove the house immediately. "Flood control said 'no way,'" he said.

"Normally I'm the good guy in saving these buildings," Joy said. "This one I'm the bad guy."

On Thanksgiving morning, Joy moved the house off district land back to Jackson. Without any wires to relocate, the move took just 30 minutes, he said.

The new launching site on Riverside Drive is more trouble, requiring the dropping of numerous power lines and removal of some street lights, Joy said.

PG&E will be needed on moving day, said Joy, who estimates he will incur $5,000 to $7,000 in added costs.

"It's a little more difficult now trying to keep everybody happy and save these 1880s buildings, but that's what I do. It's a passion of mine," Joy said.

Last Christmas, Joy moved another Napa residence, the Somky ranch house on Napa Sanitation District property near the airport, to Benicia. A video of this move, accompanied by Charlie Pride singing "If This Old House Could Talk," is available on www.youtube.com. Search for "Phil Joy."

His goal is to move the Jackson house close to Christmas Day this year, Joy said. "This one will go down the river with Christmas lights on," he said.