An agreement that’s in the works could be the answer to saving the L.M. Callis House in downtown Mathews.

The Bay School Community Arts Center has negotiated a tentative deal to sell the house to contractor Ian Morse for $1, while Preservation Mathews has committed to moving the structure to a vacant lot Morse owns on Main Street.

Tim Hill, president of Preservation Mathews, which is currently undergoing incorporation as a nonprofit organization, said that Preservation Mathews would foot the $55,000 bill for moving the house onto the vacant lot, which is next door to The Brambles and across the street from the former Twigg Motors, later known as Christie Motors, and the organization would also clean up any debris left on the Bay School property once the house was removed. Morse would then convert the building into a four- or five-suite guest inn.

Kelsey Desmond of the Bay School said that, while no written agreement has yet been signed for the transfer of the house, her organi...