Nancy Recchie and Jeff Darbee have some explaining to do.

They swear their home is relatively new.

Well, mostly, sort of.

The couple built their home on East Town Street Downtown in 2006.

But the home looks like it's been there a century because in a sense it has. The front facade of the house dates from 1924, in what Darbee calls a French townhouse style. It used to front a home on East State Street Downtown that Grant Medical Center was seeking to demolish two decades ago.

Recchie and Darbee, who have devoted their lives to historic preservation, struck a deal with Grant for the home, with the plan to move it a few blocks away to an empty lot on East Town Street.

That proved easier said than done. For one thing, it would have required temporarily removing utility wires, which would have cost $50,000 a day.

So they came up with Plan B: salvage just the front facade by dismantling it, stone by stone, window by window, mantle by mantle, wrought iron railing by wrought iron railing.

And then piece it back together to serve as the front of a new home with 2,400 square feet of finished space.

"Our happiest day was when we reassembled it and saw nothing broken, and had no missing pieces or parts left over," Recchie said.

The project was laborious, but the couple have no regrets.

"When this opportunity came up, we thought this would be perfect," Recchie said. "First and foremost, we wanted to save the facade. Also, we were able to infill a parking lot."

Still, the home does prompt questions.

"People say, 'Oh, you restored that house,' " Recchie said. "I say 'No, it's new.' It gives such satisfaction to save this."

Now, two decades after restoring the home, the couple, in their 70s, are moving to a single-floor Downtown condo. They have listed the home with Michael Casey with RE/MAX Connection for $1.395 million.

The couple made one significant change to the exterior when rebuilding the home. They elevated the home several feet to make it more consistent with neighboring homes and to allow a full basement with windows.

An East Town Street home built in 2006 behind the facade of a 1920s home has been listed for $1.395 million.

The result is a full three-story home. Recchie and Darbee devoted the top floor, with its 22-foot-high cathedral ceiling, largely to one room for living, dining and cooking, in addition to a half bath and pantry. Three sets of French doors open onto Juliette balconies overlooking Town Street, adding to the home's European feel.

"It looks like a townhouse on some street in Paris," said Darbee.

On the floor below are two bedrooms and two bathrooms. And in the lower level are a family room, office and utility room.

The home is sandwiched between two larger and deeper homes, providing a secluded pocket behind the house. The couple built a two-car garage with an apartment above, creating a private courtyard in the rear.