Midtown property where Beyonce's career was launched sold to BMW dealer

Music World Entertainment's Midtown property where Beyonce's career was launched sold to BMW dealer, which includes the historic 2225 La Branch property (Rice Mansion) and the other buildings on the block bounded by Webster, LaBranch, Crawford and Hadley streets.Tuesday, May 23, 2017. less Music World Entertainment's Midtown property where Beyonce's career was launched sold to BMW dealer, which includes the historic 2225 La Branch property (Rice Mansion) and the other buildings on the block ... more Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle Photo: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 72 Caption Close Midtown property where Beyonce's career was launched sold to BMW dealer 1 / 72 Back to Gallery

The Houston property housing the studio where Houston-born superstars Beyoncé and her sister Solange once recorded has been sold to a realty group associated with car dealer chain Group 1 Automotive.

The sale of the property, a full city block in Midtown, also includes an event space as well as a historic estate where the singers' father, Mathew Knowles, housed his music entertainment empire for 15 years.

The deal was quietly finalized late last year, and Group 1 officials could not be reached Tuesday to answer questions about their plans for the site.

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Knowles, founder, CEO and president of Music World Entertainment, said he bought the property in 2002 as an investment and it was never his intention to hold it forever.

"Having bought it as an investment, someone knocked on my door and made me an offer I couldn't refuse," he said Tuesday.

He also said cited his age as a reason for selling.

"I'm 65 years old. When I bought the property, I didn't buy it to have it all my life," he said.

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Group 1, a giant in the automotive industry, owns and operates 159 dealerships, 210 franchises and 45 collision centers in the U.S., the United Kingdom and Brazil.

One of its properties, Midtown Advantage BMW, is just a block from the Music World complex.

The historic building on the property, known as the Rice Mansion, is a three-story estate built in the early 1900s. It once housed the nephew of the founder of Rice University.

In 2002, Music World purchased the 62,500-square-foot block, bordered by Webster, LaBranch, Crawford and Hadley streets, from an attorney for $2.5 million.

Then manager of Destiny's Child, Knowles relocated his company's headquarters to the mansion.

The House of Dereon Media Center, an event space, is also on the property, which is appraised by the Harris County Appraisal District at $4.7 million.

Beyonce's sister, singer-songwriter Solange, titled her 2008 album "Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams," referencing the Midtown Music World Entertainment complex.

Knowles said he doesn't know what will happen to the historic property, but that he has offered it to both the city and Rice University.

"They didn't want it," he said.

Music World moved out of the Midtown headquarters and is now in a larger facility in southwest Houston.

"This is our 25th anniversary of Music World Entertainment," Knowles said. "We're very proud to have been in Houston ... and to have worked with incredible artists."