Posted on 09/26/2007 2:17:24 PM PDT by Dubya
Gov. Rick Perry and wife, Anita, will move out of the 150-year-old Gov.'s Mansion next month and into a three-story, limestone home with four bedrooms, a heated pool and an outdoor cabana.
The state will pony up $9,900-a.m.onth in rent for at least a year while the Gov.'s Mansion undergoes renovations starting next month. The 6,386 square foot home in a posh west Austin neighborhood has been listed on the market for more than a year, with the most recent asking price $1.85 million.
The home with "luxurious Texas styling" sits on 3.25 acres and has pecan hardwood floors, a gourmet kitchen with marble countertops and another kitchen outside by the pool. It includes a subzero refrigerator, a balcony and a third-story attic converted to a game room. A separate guest house will be used as staff quarters.
All four bedrooms in the home are upstairs, a feature Perry liked, said spokesman Robert Black. The upstairs bedrooms give the family "a level of privacy" while hosting guests, he said.
The Perrys will move into the house by the first part of October, Black said.
Rent for the new residence is part of the estimated $10 million in renovation costs. Perry is required by law to live in Austin while governor.
The Gov.'s Mansion, a designated National Historic Landmark, is set for a facelift starting this fall. In addition to new plumbing, the project will include lead and asbestos abatement and an effort to preserve some of the historic pine wood used around the windows.
The new home is surrounded by a wrought iron fence within a gated community, another feature that appealed to Perry, Black said.
"Security was one of the driving factors," he said. "Being able to use it for the functions one might expect of the first family of Texas and all of the logistics that go with that."
The home is being leased from Murell Campbell through his daughter and son-in-law, Melinda and Guy Grace. Grace has contributed $2,500 a year to Perry's campaign every year since 2005, but Black said Perry has not met Grace.
The county tax office appraised the value of the home at $1.004 million.
I had to go back and see what I said but I said Texas only got a third of the rent. This is based on my own experience as a Texas landlord.
I’ve only been back in Texas since Gov. Perry but from the changes I have seen, I would guess that several governors before Perry have also been very expensive.
I was wondering who would be the first to catch that! LOL ;)
Brilliant idea!
Aw-shucks. It weren't nothing. I imagine Gov Perry would want it that way anyhow judging by his track record.
How does TX get any money from rent? Texas Real Estate Broker and Landlord.
Agree with you...I am sickened by the celebrity like corrupt state of politics....And government.
I did not mean to say Texas “gets” any of my rent money. However, it has to be paid by some means. Of the $715/month rent I receive off my buildings, the County “gets” roughly 24% of it ($175/mo) at the end of the year in property taxes. If my meager home at Albuquerque were in this Texas county, my tax bill would be over $8,500 a year. It’s not a pretty picture for a retiree.
LOL! As a resident of New Mexico, I cannot vote in Texas elections so I really haven’t gotten too involved in Texas politics. I do know my home state has really changed.
I know a lot of public company CEO. (Pre-Sarbanes/Oxley, I was one myself -— now, it’s not worth the bother.)
I walked into one position at a company, and found out that one of my perks was a vacation home in Aspen and one in Horseshoe Bay. Neither taxable.
LOL!! Good idea. Will his black Suburban have a TXTAG?
It is a sad commentary that security was one of the driving factors. Is Austin that dangerous?
He’s just getting used to the lifestyle he’ll enjoy while working for Cintras after he’s kicked out of the governorship. Didn’t Arkansas put their governor up in a trailer while their capital was being renovated? Sounds like a more prudent use of Texas taxpayer dollars. I imagine they could get a couple of trailers cheap from FEMA.
You are probably right.
Didn’t Arkansas put their governor up in a trailer while their capital was being renovated? Sounds like a more prudent use of Texas taxpayer dollars.
Yes thats what I understand.
I imagine they could get a couple of trailers cheap from FEMA.
I bet he could,good idea. LOL
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