Building Begins on Second Annual Pink Ribbon House

HOUSTON -- (March 22, 2004) -- Construction will begin on a million dollar custom home in Bellaire that will benefit the Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital in Houston. A ground-breaking ceremony will take place at 8 a.m. April 14 at the home site located at 7907 South Rice Avenue.

Royce Hassell of R. Hassell Properties will build the second annual "Pink Ribbon House." Hassell's wife, Silvia, a breast cancer survivor, designed the 8,000 square foot home. The Houston chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers will provide 28 professional interior designers to decorate the home, which will be included as an ASID Showcase Home for 2004.
The public will be invited to tour the home in October, highlighting National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Funds raised from sponsors, individual donations, donations of products and services in the building of the home, special event tickets and tour tickets will benefit the Breast Center. Rebecca Rush, a member of the Breast Center development advisory council, co-chairs the effort with Connie Haddox. Honorary chairs are Bob McNair and wife Janice, a 15-year cancer survivor. The event is expected to raise over $300,000 for breast cancer research.

Listed by Mary Dee Neal and Ray Holtzapple of George Murray Realtors, the "Old English" Tudor style home will feature two master bedrooms, turrets, a gatehouse, conservatory, library and outside kitchen. The home is valued at $1,790,000.

"We are delighted to be a part of the Pink Ribbon House project and to raise awareness of breast cancer and the important work being done at Baylor," said Royce Hassell, the home's builder. "This home will feature cutting-edge design and the latest in home building trends. No detail will be overlooked."
Event chair Rebecca Rush says the Pink Ribbon House will raise the bar on fundraising and focus attention on a critical health issue.
"Breast cancer is a leading cause of death among women," said Rush. "Through the building of this magnificent home, we want to bring the issue of breast cancer to the forefront, and raise funds for research."
Houston designer Jane-Page Crump, ASID, will direct the home's design team who will transform the house into the ASID 2004 Showcase Home.
Dr. C. Kent Osborne and his renowned team of researchers established the Breast Center in 1999. Internationally recognized for his work in breast cancer research, Osborne and his group are leaders in breast cancer prevention, detection and treatment.

The research program has been designated by the National Cancer Institute as one of nine Specialized Programs of Research Excellence in Breast Cancer in the United States and the only one in the Southwest.