(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Gianfortes purchase historic Helena mansion with plans to donate it to the State of Montana – Daily Montanan [1] ['Darrell Ehrlick', 'More From Author', '- January'] Date: 2024-01-08 The Montana governor’s mansion – officially known as the “executive’s residence” – is dark. It has been for two years, awaiting repairs and updates to its aging structure which dates back more than 60 years. Montana’s current governor doesn’t live there. Instead, he lives at his own private residence in Helena, while renovations have stalled. On Monday, just days after a state Senator asked the Legislative Audit Division to conduct a review of the finances and performance because money that was set aside for renovations to the governor’s residence has been unused, Gianforte and Montana First Lady Susan Gianforte, announced that they’ve purchased a historic mansion in Helena and plan on donating the historic mansion to the state. While the historic property cannot be called the governor’s mansion, the house is a mansion and it is where Gianforte said he plans on staying while he’s in Helena. Gianforte also owns another property in Helena and one in Bozeman, about a 90-minute drive from Helena. With the donation, pegged at $4 million, the state will have to decide what to do with the historic property, and if it will replace the current executive residence, and if so, what to do with the current structure, located at the fringe of the Montana Capitol complex. The Gianforte administration put out a press release Monday announcing that the Gianforte’s bought the historic Samuel T. Hauser house and that they were offering it to the state as a gift. “Susan and I are fortunate to have achieved the American dream, and with that, we believe we have an obligation to give back. To whom much is given, much is expected,” Gianforte said. “We purchased the beautiful and historic Hauser House to call our home here in Helena, and to provide a space for the people of Montana to come together. Following my service, we will donate this home to the State and the people of Montana.” The State of Montana will ultimately decide how to use the house and if it will become the permanent governor’s mansion. There is a citizens advisory group that makes recommendations about donations to the state, and it will likely be up to lawmakers on the State Administration committee to decide what to do with the mansion. The Hauser Mansion, 720 Madison Ave., is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Gianforte is the third governor to call the property home. Hauser built the mansion in 1885, the year he was appointed territorial governor by President Grover Cleveland. Hauser served as governor until 1888. The house stayed in the family, being inherited by his daughter when Hauser died in 1914. Also, former Montana Gov. Tim Babcock owned the house, purchasing it in 1969. Hauser was a Democrat while Babcock and Gianforte are Republicans. Babcock was a close friend of former President Richard M. Nixon and had a phone line to the White House installed at the mansion. The property has had several other notable owners. The Hauser family sold the property to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, and used it as a bishop’s residence until 1935, when it was given to the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Kansas, a Catholic religious order whose presence in healthcare stretched across the Treasure State. An article first announcing the sale and donation broke in a publication, Mansion Global, during the weekend. Mansion Global covers luxury residential real estate. It was listed for sale at $6.18 million, according to that article, the nine-bedroom home features a carriage house. Hauser, a man who made a fortune twice and lost it both times, was responsible for another notable Helena architectural landmark, the First National Bank of Helena, now known as the “Securities Building” in Last Chance Gulch. (Note: The Daily Montanan maintains offices in the Securities Building) Despite the donation, state Sen. Mary Ann Dunwell, D-Helena, whose district encompasses the current executive’s residence said she’s not giving up the fight for more information about the property transaction. She had requested the legislative audit last week, and told the Daily Montanan she doesn’t plan to withdraw the request. “I still want to know who knew what, when,” she said. “Was this his plan all along?” Dunwell said the state’s residents have a right to know about what facilities the state owns, what’s happening to the money, and how the state is managing the governor’s security detail which provides protection for him inside the capitol and at home. The governor’s office on Monday confirmed that the Montana Department of Administration had paused renovation work on the current residence, located at 2 N. Carson St., because of “supply chain shortage and delays, and the low availability of skilled labor.” However, Dunwell said she’s suspicious of that claim because other state construction projects, including the construction of the Montana Heritage Complex near the capitol at the state historical society has been going without any problems. The current executive residence has millions of dollars in needed upgrades and replacement. More than $2 million has been set aside for plumbing and wiring updates as well as abatement of asbestos. “Did he have these plans all along? And why was he silent. He knew what was going on,” Dunwell said. “How come all these other projects have moved forward fine and dandy?” She also said with housing at a premium, and space near the Capitol at a premium for state staff, it raises the question of whether Montana should be considering a different house for the top executive. “There are 340 kids who are considered homeless in the Helena Public Schools. For me, there are too many questions and not enough answers,” Dunwell said. “We just need transparency, not a PR news release. Does the public want to move ahead? Whatever happens, it should be done in a transparent way.” [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2024/01/08/gianfortes-purchase-historic-helena-mansion-with-plans-to-donate-it-to-the-state-of-montana/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/