The orchard and the beloved Dorcich fruit stand might have disappeared but the two-story farmhouse is going to stay. In fact, it has gotten a new lease on life.

This week the farmhouse will be propped up on trailers and moved from the middle of the property to a corner. After that, construction and renovation work will start at the site.

Once construction begins, much of the existing open space will disappear and will be replaced by several two-story houses. But the farmhouse, part of the city's historic buildings inventory, will be preserved.

The move will mark the culmination of a process that began with the death of Louis Dorcich, who until 2000 ran one of the last family-run orchards in Saratoga.

After his death, his children--there are 11 of them--decided that they would not be able to maintain the orchard that their father had lovingly tended and nurtured for 40 years.

The two-acre property was on the market for a few years before SEI Homes, a local investment and development company, bought it for $2.8 million in 2003.

Salim Sagarchi, president of SEI Homes, plans to renovate the farmhouse and put it on the market. Five more two-story houses will also be built on the lot around a cul-de-sac, which will be called Dorcich Court.

"We will preserve the look and architecture of the house," Sagarchi said.

Once the house is moved, it will rest on a new and more sturdy foundation. Sagarchi plans to improve the insulation and the plumbing system. "I have to provide every modern amenity that is available. The bottom line is that I will need to find a buyer for the house," he said.

Once he purchased the property, Sagarchi employed the Dill Design Group, a Los Gatos-based company, to research the history of the house.

The 17-page report prepared by the firm indicates that the Craftsman-style house was built early in the 20th century.

The house and the orchard was owned by Frank Mitchell, a local farmer who died in 1940. His sons inherited the orchard after his death.

Mitchell was known for his civic and community contributions. "Frank Mitchell was instrumental in bringing a modern roadway system to Santa Clara Valley and credited with building a road from the Saratoga summit into popular Big Basin State Park," the report said.

The Dorcich family purchased the property in 1961. They were Yugoslavian immigrants who came to California in 1911. Before moving to Saratoga, Louis Dorcich and his wife lived in a large house on Winchester Boulevard in San Jose. But San Jose was on its way to becoming a bustling and busy city. Louis wanted some peace and quiet.

The family soon moved to Saratoga.

The Mitchell property was a mess. The peach and apricot trees were dying. The yard was overgrown with weeds. Dorcich and his family immediately started planting fruit trees on the property.

"The orchard was nonexistent. The previous owners had just let it go," said Lou, one of the 11 Dorcich children, who now lives in Watsonville.

"People would often marvel at this farmhouse in the middle of suburbia," Lou said. "The orchard was very close to my father's heart. He took a lot of pride in it."

Dorcich worked as a butcher at Gene's Market on Cox Avenue during the day. After he came back home, he would work on his little orchard and take care of the cherry and fig trees.

"I think everyone in Saratoga has bought fruit from the Dorcich Orchard at one time or another," Lou said.

Donna Dorcich, one of Lou's sisters, lived in the old farmhouse between 1961 and 1972. "It was a great neighborhood. There were 11 of us climbing trees and having fun," she said.

Donna said that her father was quick to instill a sense of discipline and work ethic among his children.

"We had to pick the weeds and keep the orchard clean. Each one of us was given responsibility for a particular section of the orchard," Donna said.

Dorcich continued to maintain the orchard and run the fruit stand, but the years were creeping up on him. One by one, all of his children left home. By 2000, he was telling them that he could not run the fruit stand any longer.

"He was 85. He couldn't do it any more," Lou said.

Dorcich died in September that year.

His children decided to operate the fruit stand one last time in 2002, even as the property was being put on the market.

"It was my dad's dying wish to sell the property. I am happy that they are going to keep the house," Donna said.

Sagarchi said he is saddened that the orchard no longer exists but links its demise to the passage of time and the urbanization of Saratoga.

Construction of the new houses is likely to be complete in a year.

April Halberstadt, curator of the Saratoga Historical Museum, said the Dorcich property was one of the original farmhouses in Saratoga.

"Their fruit stand was an institution," she said. "People still look for it."