Brown is selling two houses on Angell Street that must be moved to make way for a Mind Brain Behavior building.

The Providence Journal / Frieda Squires

PROVIDENCE — Signs of recent habitation by college students are evident inside the two houses for sale at 127 and 129 Angell St., on the city’s East Side.

Left behind are sneakers, shaving cream, posters tacked onto walls, particle-board bookcases, and a collection of liquor bottles on a shelf in one of the kitchens. In one bedroom, hundreds of wire hangers have spilled out of a tiny closet.

Unlike many historic houses on the East Side, this pair, built in 1849 and 1853, are not in a pristine state. Although they still have elegantly curved staircases and original hardwood floors, the phrase “needs cosmetics” would be a kind understatement of their condition.

But at a price of $10 apiece, it would also be an understatement to say they are priced to sell.

The only catch — there had to be a catch — is that the houses have to be moved to new locations, preferably on the East Side. But the seller, Brown University, is even prepared to help in this endeavor, and has set aside up to $1 million to pay for moving costs.

Because the houses are historic properties, the Ivy League school is soliciting offers to move them to make way for a four-story, 74,000-square-foot Mind Brain Behavior building, according to Mike McCormick, Brown vice president for planning, design and construction.

“It’s part of the master plan to build a cluster of new buildings around the core of the campus, and leave the edges of the campus to blend into the neighborhood,” McCormick said.

An advertisement for the sale last weekend included an offer to sell a third building, the Urban Environmental Laboratory, at 135 Angell St., but Brown is now rescinding plans to sell that building. In 1984, Brown converted this former carriage house, using, for that time, state-of-the-art green technology, for the Center for Environmental Studies, McCormick said.

Plans call for the new Mind Brain Behavior building to be placed in the footprint occupied by these three houses.

Brown’s advertisement states that “preference will be given to sites on the East Side of Providence that are in keeping with the architectural scale and character of the buildings.”

In addition, “the move route” of a particular application will be a factor, and the “impact to street trees, residents and businesses” will be evaluated.

“It really is a challenge, with all the street trees, and the narrow streets” to move houses in the East Side, said Clifford Resnick, director of planning for Brown’s facilities management department.

But it is a challenge with which Brown has plenty of experience. Over the years Brown has moved 26 buildings as new projects have required older structures to be relocated.

Just last year, Brown moved the stunning Peter Green House 450 feet, from 142 Angell St. to 79 Brown St. It took three days to move the 300-ton house.

To request an application to buy either 127 or 129 Angell St., call the Brown University Department of Facilities Management at (401) 863-7811. Applications are due by Nov. 21. Applicants must be able to have the houses moved before July 31 next year.

cdunn@projo.com