Jim West Mansion Survives Ike

14 October 2008

by: Jim Bell

That Bay Area group working to save the historic Jim West mansion on Clear Lake reports the old house came through Hurricane Ike with only minor damage. They hope to ratchet up their fund-raising efforts with a volunteer kickoff event this Friday night, as Jim Bell reports.

 

 

 

The non-profit group Preserved In Time has until 2012 to raise the 11 million dollars the West mansion's current owner wants for the house and 11 acres of land. That's when deed restrictions preventing its demolition expire. Organizer Linda Sansing says the West mansion appears to have survived Hurricane Ike.

"The roof, it's difficult to tell, but I believe it has probably lost a few tiles. As far as I can tell, no major structural damage."

Sansing says the storm also derailed their fund-raising work because everyone involved has been busy cleaning up the damage and mess at their own homes. She's had to reschedule a meeting with a professional fund-raising group because her first meeting was scheduled for the day after Ike hit. She says she knows 11 million dollars is a huge amount of money, and raising it will be hard, but not impossible.

"What we're trying to do right now is raise the earnest money. We are a 501-c3 non-profit charity, and we're eligible for private foundation grants. Five years ago there was a lot of interest by several of those foundations."

Sansing says they need more volunteers, so they'll hold a recruiting event this Friday at 5pm, at the Nassau Bay Hilton across NASA Road One from the West Mansion. You can read the history of the West mansion, with a video tour, and get more information on what Preserved In Time is doing to save it visit there website at Preserved In Time-dot-org.

Jim Bell, KUHF, Houston Public Radio News.

For more information or to listen to this interview, please click here.