It All Began With a Big Dream
In 2001, Ulysses Watkins, a physician who had achieved remarkable success in his career, decided to build a massive building. Together with his wife, he decided that a 46-bedroom mansion was what they needed.
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After buying land in the Pearland area, they began to build. Somewhere along the line, after the house was more than halfway completed, they became overwhelmed—his dream was too big for him.
Dream Big… But Maybe Not Too Big
A 63,000-square-foot building is a huge undertaking, but the couple was motivated by their dream and passion to house scores of foster children and his live-in patients. The dream, however, turned out to be too large to realize.
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The mansion had 46 bedrooms, 55 bathrooms, nine garages, and an indoor swimming pool. Some of the rooms were larger than many homes in the area. The community named the house the “Manvel Mansion.”
Manvel Mansion Sits Vacant for Six Years
Time began to pass after the Watkins couple stopped building the home. It was a long six years for the building, which sat alone on the large property.
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Its only companion was another massive residential home several hundred yards away, which the Watkins couple were building for themselves but later abandoned as well. The Manvel Mansion was raided repeatedly by vandals who sprayed graffiti, stole electric cables, and broke windows.
The Building Gets a New Owner
The Watkins couple must have been super-relieved when Jim Youngblood asked about buying the property. Jim was a partner at a property management firm in the area who intended to complete the building and sell it at a higher price.
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Fast-forward to ten years later, and Jim still hadn’t sold the house. It seemed like no one was brave enough to be responsible for such a gigantic property.
Many Unsuccessful Attempts to Buy the Property
Jim had planned to sell off the building for as high as $3.6 million. In the span of about fifteen years, twenty buyers had shown interest in securing ownership of the property.
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However, every time he tried, there was always a hitch here or there to frustrate the plans. It had to have been one of the most challenging periods of Jim’s life.
Female Navy Veteran Shows Interest in the Mansion
In 2017, Christa Mode, a female Navy veteran indicated an interest in buying the property. At the time, she had been out of the Navy for eight years.
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Mode had wanted to collaborate with Jim in using the facility for a cause she was passionate about: operating a veteran support center.
Bailey House Project Never Sees the Light of Day
Christa called her proposed veteran’s center “The Bailey House.” It was planned to be a fortress for veterans, many of whom were giving up on life.
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She intended to show them the way to a normal civilian life using the facility, far from the rough ending many veterans are known to have.
Community Votes Against the Project
Unfortunately, the plan was halted by the community. To press on, Christa and Jim had to change the property’s zoning policy to accommodate the plan.
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They wanted to convert the facility from its Open Single Family Residential (OSFR) status to light commercial. However, the local community would have none of it. Many of the residents were uncomfortable having lots of veterans in the area.
Christian School Makes a Buying Attempt
In 2019, the Heritage Christian Academy proposed to purchase the property. A popular school in the area, the facility was becoming insufficient for its growing number of students.
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The academy had it in mind to buy the Manvel Mansion for quite some time. But unfortunately, this plan, too, didn’t make it to the finish line.
Filing the Necessary Paperwork
There is a lot of paperwork involved if the plan to turn the mansion into a school was going to work. But as a prospective buyer eyeing the property for more than ten years, the school had enough time to prepare.
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According to Kara Marsh, the school administrator, they had gone very far before the plan was scuttled. “We have already made it past all of the hurdles that others have struggled with,” she said.
Remodeling the Mansion in Preparation
The plan was to share the building with Youngblood. The school was to occupy the bottom floor, while he had the upper floor to decide what to do with.
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Part of the deal involved having Jim remodel the section of the building to be used by the school. Unfortunately for him, he had already accomplished this stipulation when the plan fell through.
Coming Up With a New Idea for the Property
After the school went bankrupt and couldn’t continue with the plan, Jim kept trying to figure out a way. He got another idea which sounded like a brilliant one.
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He decided to rent out portions of the facility for commercial use, which would remove the burden of finding buyers with huge financial capabilities.
The Plan Seems to Be Working
At the time of this writing, the plan seems to be on track. Finally, 2354 County Road will play host to businesses.
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Jim is renting out spaces at $20.40 per square foot annually. So far, a church and a daycare have occupied 20,000 square feet of the property.
More Remodeling to Do
To make the facility fit with the new plan, Jim had to remodel the house—again. But this time, it’s worth the trouble.
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The nine-car garage now serves as storage space, the grass yard is now a 180-car parking lot, and the indoor swimming pool is now a church hall. Finally, the era of yearly $100,000 tax and insurance on a vacant property is over—Jim can finally smile again!