It's not quite what Chris and Carole and Kinky had in mind.
Rick Perry is vacating the Governor's Mansion. But he'll return in about 18 months, after workers repair, re-plumb and repaint the 8,290-square-foot, 21-room Greek Revival home on 11th and Colorado Streets in downtown Austin.
Spokesman Robert Black said the Perry family will probably reside in a private home during the $7 million-$10 million renovation, which includes ripping out and replacing calcified water and sewer lines (some of which date back to 1914), installing grease traps for the kitchen, expanding the basement, removing and restoring all the windows and shutters, improving electrical and lighting systems, installing smoke detectors and fire sprinklers, eliminating lead and asbestos, stripping peeling paint from the south wall of the Mansion, repainting the exterior and redoing the interior walls of the house.
Black said it hasn't been determined yet where the Perrys will stay. The last governor to leave the Mansion temporarily, Gov. Bill Clements, stayed at the Cambridge Apartments north of the Capitol between 1979 and 1982.
Johnson anticipated one fairly unusual problem that may surface and extend the maintenance period — the uncovering of archaeological artifacts while excavating for plumbing work. "I fully expect to dig stuff up," he said.
During the Mansion's renovation, the historical and antique furnishings will be removed and restored by non-profit group Friends of the Governor's Mansion. That organization was organized by then-Gov. Clements in 1979 to take care of the Mansion. It raised $3 million in private donations to restore and provide (new) antique furniture for the house.
Administrator Jane Karotkin said she doesn't know how much her agency will spend, but that no major projects are planned.
According to IRS documents from 2005 (via guidestar.org [1]), Friends received $192,000 in direct public support in 2004, including about $150,000 in direct contributions. Without being specific, Karotkin said the agency has a variety of donors from across Texas. She did say that the Perrys are not among the foundation's contributors. At the end of 2004 — according to the latest tax return available — Friends had $4.1 million in net assets, with about $2.1 million of that tied up in furnishings. It spent $131,899 on maintenance and restoration projects at the Mansion in 2004.
The Mansion was completed in June 1856 by Abner Cook for $14,500. Cook owned a clay pit on the Colorado River that was the source for the bricks used in the Mansion. He also had an interest in the Bastrop sawmill that provided the lumber for the house, according to the Friends' Web site, txfgm.org [2]. When the project ran six months over the contracted time period, Cook had to pay the rent of Gov. Elisha Marshall Pease and his family.
—by Patrick Brendel