Ex-President Bush, Laura Bush move to Dallas home

[February 21, 2009]  DALLAS (AP) -- A month after leaving the White House, former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, moved into their new Dallas home Friday.

Bush's motorcade drove past a security barricade in the late afternoon, bringing the former first couple to their new residence: a 1959 ranch-style brick home that sits at the top of a quiet cul-de-sac in a wealthy Dallas neighborhood. Bush waved to a jogger as he rode by, and the jogger waved back.

"President and Mrs. Bush are glad to be back in Dallas, appreciate the warm welcome by their neighbors, and look forward to once again being part of the Dallas community," said Rob Saliterman, a spokesman for Bush's office in Dallas.

The couple's new home has about 8,500 square feet, four bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms and a wet bar. Local property records indicate the home on Daria Place is worth about $2.1 million.

The house has a wide front yard and dark shutters, with a gate at the top of the driveway that affords some privacy. The Dallas City Council last month approved installation of a security gate that will eventually block access to the street. There are about half a dozen homes on the cul-de-sac.

Dallas police and Secret Service agents have set up a barricade in recent days limiting access to the neighborhood. They have even turned away delivery vans; packages must be dropped off with security personnel, who hand-deliver them.

The home is in the Preston Hollow area of Dallas, home to some of Texas' wealthiest residents and most expensive homes. Some front lawns have sported "W" signs. Others have signs saying "Welcome home George & Laura."

An elementary school just around the block from the Bushes had a banner displayed outside Friday saying "Kindergarten welcomes President Bush and family."

Bush, the former managing partner of the Texas Rangers in suburban Arlington, will count among his neighbors Tom Hicks, the baseball team's current owner. Hicks owns a 29,000-square-foot mansion and large property adjacent to the cul-de-sac, according to property records.

Other neighborhood homeowners include Mark Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, billionaire businessman T. Boone Pickens, Republican donor Harold Simmons and recently retired Exxon Mobil CEO Lee R. Raymond.

Laura Bush has been staying in Dallas for at least the last few days and has been spotted at area restaurants. The former president has been staying at his ranch in Crawford, about 95 miles south of Dallas. His motorcade drove up from the area Friday, stopping at Bush's Dallas office before continuing to the new home.

It's a homecoming of sorts for the Bushes, who lived in Dallas from December 1988 through January 1995, before moving to the Texas governor's mansion in Austin. Laura Bush is a graduate of nearby Southern Methodist University, which will house her husband's presidential library and think tank.

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AP Photographer Tony Gutierrez contributed to this report.

[Associated Press; By JEFF CARLTON]

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