{"id":466790,"date":"2026-10-15T13:38:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T13:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/466790\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T13:38:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T13:38:40","slug":"future-of-historic-houston-mansion-remains-uncertain-under-new-ownership-houston-public-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/466790\/","title":{"rendered":"Future of historic Houston mansion remains uncertain under new ownership \u2013 Houston Public Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Kyle McClenagan\/Houston Public Media<\/p>\n

The historic Kirby Mansion, located at 2000 Smith St. in Houston, on Oct. 9, 2026.<\/p>\n

The recent purchase of the Kirby Mansion, which has stood in Houston’s midtown neighborhood for 100 years, has reignited the discussion of preserving one of the city’s last remaining Tudor Revival homes.<\/p>\n

In early October, the approximately 20,000-square-foot building located at 2000 Smith St. was sold to OB Texas Properties LLC, according to a copy of the deed shared with and verified by Houston Public Media. <\/p>\n

Additional public records show that Omair Bashir, the registered agent of OB Texas Properties LLC, is also the registered agent of Smith St C Store LLC, owns several gas station locations, and has business connections with Brake Time Corner Market LLC \u2014 a convenience store and gas station company.<\/p>\n

Sign up for the Hello, Houston!<\/a> daily newsletter to get local reports like this delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n

Bashir and his companies did not respond to repeated requests for comment regarding any potential development plans for the property. <\/p>\n

However, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission records show that Smith St C Store LLC applied for and received a liquor license for the property earlier this year. <\/p>\n

Jim Parsons, the programs and communications director for Preservation Houston \u2014 a non-profit organization that advocates for local historic buildings and neighborhoods \u2014 said the organization has been in contact with the owners but doesn’t yet know their plans for the property. <\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Kyle McClenagan\/Houston Public Media<\/p>\n

The historic Kirby Mansion, located at 2000 Smith St. in Houston, on Oct. 9, 2026.<\/p>\n

“There’s no indication so far of any redevelopment plans,” Parsons said. “We have not seen any evidence of construction or a construction or demolition permit of any kind. We have been in touch with a representative of the new owner, and we’re working to get a meeting set to discuss the future plans for the site.” <\/p>\n

While the mansion is approximately 20,000 square feet, the lot surrounding it, which was also included in the purchase, is over 60,000 square feet, according to Harris County Central Appraisal District, meaning parts of the property could be utilized without demolishing the mansion.<\/p>\n

Since the property was purchased, new signs by commercial real estate brokerage firm Greenberg & Company have been placed on the property’s fences. Greenberg & Company did not provide any details regarding what the future plans for the property might be.<\/p>\n

The history of Kirby Mansion<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Kyle McClenagan\/Houston Public Media<\/p>\n

The historic Kirby Mansion, located at 2000 Smith St. in Houston, on Oct. 9, 2026.<\/p>\n

The mansion’s history dates back to 1894, when then-businessman J.S. Price built the property’s original home.<\/p>\n

However, Parsons said it wasn’t until 1926 that the mansion’s current form took shape.<\/p>\n

“[Price] sold it relatively early on to John Henry Kirby,” Parsons said. “Kirby was a huge name in East Texas lumber and one of the leaders in the Houston lumber market. … He brought in an architect named James Ruskin Bailey to essentially rebuild the place into the home that we see today, which I think is 36 rooms.”<\/p>\n

According to Parsons, some believe that parts of the original 1892 home may still exist.<\/p>\n

“The interesting story there is the sort of urban legend that the Kirbys were superstitious about living in a completely new house,” Parsons said. “So, it may be that there are elements of that 1892 house contained within.”<\/p>\n

\"John<\/a>John Henry Kirby was a Houston Lumber baron who lived from November 1860 until November 1940.<\/p>\n

While the Tudor Revival style home may appear out of place today, Parsons said it is one of the few remaining remnants of Houston’s old South End neighborhood. <\/p>\n

“That was the elite residential area in Houston in the late 19th century and early 20th century. So, it was sort of the River Oaks of Houston in those days,” he said. “It’s a little jarring to see the Kirby mansion in its current setting, but you have to remember, 100 years ago it would have been surrounded by similar houses.”<\/p>\n

Along with the mansion, Kirby is also the namesake for Kirby Drive and the Upper Kirby area of Houston.<\/p>\n

Parsons said the mansion had been open to the public periodically in the past, but that it hasn’t been open to visitors for at least 10 years. The current condition of the building isn’t publicly known, and Parsons said it would likely need work. <\/p>\n

“It seems like it’s been kept pretty intact. You don’t see broken windows, you don’t see holes in the roof, so that’s encouraging,” Parsons said. “I would assume that it’s kind of in a mothballed state, for lack of a better word.”<\/p>\n

No historical protection<\/p>\n

Despite the mansion’s age and historical significance, the property currently has no legal protection or historical designation. <\/p>\n

There are three different levels of historical designations in Texas: national, state and local. <\/p>\n

“The one that actually makes a difference in terms of protection is [the] City of Houston protected landmark designation,” Parsons said. “That’s a city-level designation and that … is the only one that can keep a structure from being torn down.”<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Kyle McClenagan\/Houston Public Media<\/p>\n

The locked gate to the Kirby Mansion in Houston, which has not been open to the public for over a decade.<\/p>\n

A historical designation can also make it easier for landowners to renovate or restore the historic building, Parsons said. <\/p>\n

“Along with those historic designations, especially the federal listing on the national register, that can open the door to historic preservation tax credits that the owner or developer could use to help finance a restoration project,” he said. “And in exchange, the restoration or redevelopment is done to a high standard. So, we see that as a win-win.”<\/p>\n

However, any level of designation needs the approval of the property owner, Parsons said. <\/p>\n

“It’s pretty safe to say that the Kirby Mansion would qualify for any of those designations just given its history and its significance,” he said. “I do think that it’s easy to sort of make the leap and suppose or fear the worst for the property, but we’re remaining optimistic that the new owners recognize the treasure that they have and that hopefully they have a thoughtful redevelopment plan in mind.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kyle McClenagan\/Houston Public Media The historic Kirby Mansion, located at 2000 Smith St. in Houston, on Oct. 9,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466791,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1174,910,2419,56,58,31241,57,158886,223,22540,22541],"class_list":["post-466790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-arts-culture","tag-business","tag-history","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-history","tag-houston-news","tag-kirby-mansion","tag-news","tag-preservation","tag-preservation-houston"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}