Preservation Austin gets $1 million for new (old) home

The McBee Family Foundation has given $1 million to Preservation Austin to forward its mission in the city. According to a press release from Preservation Austin, the gift will support “establishing the newly-named McFarland-McBee House, built in 1947, as Preservation Austin’s office and home base.” In a statement to the press, Robert F. McBee, president of the McBee Family Foundation and son of Austinites Sue and Frank McBee, explained: “The McBee Family Foundation is not huge and historically has given useful, but certainly not life-changing, grants to a number of well-deserving organizations. With this grant, though, we believe we can make a real difference for Preservation Austin. They need and deserve a real home. Our mother and father were both devoted to the preservation of historical buildings in Austin, mainly through the efforts of the Heritage Society, and so with this gift we are going back to our roots, so to speak. We look forward to watching how Preservation Austin grows and blossoms in its new headquarters.” The donation is the largest single gift given to Preservation Austin in its 71 years of operation.