In the Houston suburb of Bellaire, the former home and studio of architect Victory Lundy at 701 Mulberry Lane has been spared from the wrecking ball. The residence was resold to a pair of preservationists, Dan and Carol Price, for $1.75 million in an off-market deal.
“We’re absolutely thrilled,” Docomomo US executive director Liz Waytkus, who helped the save the house, told AN.
“In a world with so much difficult news, knowing there are people like the Prices renews our faith in the power of shared history,” Waytkus continued. “Finding good stewards for a historic home is never easy, and we’re so grateful that Victor’s house will continue to be cared for and learned from.”
The previous owners were in touch with Habitat for Humanity’s Deconstruction Program to dismantle the building, and salvage materials for resale or reuse. They purchased it in October 2024.
The midcentury abode, designed by Lundy himself, was slated for demolition in just a few weeks, prior to this latest acquisition by the Prices. After the sale, Nick Lundy, Victor’s son, told the Houston Chronicle “It’s a miracle.”
Efforts to stave off demolition and rescue the home were steered by a coalition of preservationists including Houston Mod, Preservation Houston, and Docomomo US.
Lundy died last year, at the age of 101. His Bellaire residence, completed in 1988, occupies a half-acre lot. Its two-bedroom, two-bath home layout combines Lundy’s signature use of wood, meandering forms, and natural light.
Moving forward, the buyers said they will likely not live at the Lundy house, however they may convert it into a rental home, or housing for visiting artists and scholars. (Dan Price is a faculty member at the University of Houston.) Carol Price affirmed, with this purchase, “We’re trying to make an example of how you can live in a historic house, and it doesn’t have to be preserved under glass.”
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