Texas Governor's mansion after arson fire in 2008
AUSTIN,TEXAS -- Scaled down plans to build onto the historic Texas Governor's Mansion are expected to be made public Tuesday. You may recall that originally the plan called for a 3,000-square-foot addition, which generated controversy a few months ago.
According to the Dallas Morning News and people briefed on the new plans, a two-story addition would be built onto the back of the 153-year-old mansion's kitchen wing to house a fire stairway and provide additional kitchen, and storage space, along with at least one small bedroom.
The plans are said to feature less than 1,000 square feet of new space. The scaled down proposal comes after a two-story addition with a basement, to be connected to the structure, were shelved in January after criticism from former governors, state officials, historians and historic preservationists.
If the smaller addition is approved, it will be the first significant change in nearly a century to the house where Texas hero Sam Houston once lived.
Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus are all on the State Preservation Board, and are scheduled to meet Tuesday to vote on the plan.
