One of Birmingham’s oldest buildings has a new owner: What’s next for the Hassinger Daniels Mansion?

One of the oldest homes in Birmingham has a new owner.

New Orleans-based real estate development and investment firm Kupperman Companies has purchased the historic Hassinger Daniels Mansion Bed and Breakfast at 2028 Highland Avenue in Five Points South.

The price of the mansion was listed on the market for $2.25 million.

Kupperman purchased the home from Sheila Chaffin, the longtime owner of the mansion and innkeeper of the bed and breakfast. Sims Herron with Moore Company Realty represented Chaffin and brokered the deal. The property was acquired in partnership with GBX Group, a Cleveland, Ohio-based historic preservation real estate firm.

A storied past

The Hassinger Daniels Mansion Bed & Breakfast is a fully restored Victorian-style mansion.

Designed by architect Thomas U. Walter and completed in 1898, the 12,500-square-foot house was the longtime home of Birmingham iron industry leader William H. Hassinger and his wife Virginia.

In 1929, the Hassingers moved to the Hassinger Castle in Redmont Park. The mansion had tenants and operators throughout the years, including Roy and Venoa Daniels, a couple who rented the home from the Hassingers from 1946 to 1976. Dr. Roy Daniels, an optician, and Venoa Daniels, a nurse and realtor, operated an optician clinic on the first floor, according to information on the mansion website. A profile on Bham Wiki says Hassingers’ heirs sold the property to the Daniels in 1975 and Venoa continued to live in the home after Roy’s death.

The mansion was listed on the National Historic Registry in 1976.

In 2010, Venoa Daniels needed to move into assisted living after years of health problems. Her children wanted to sell the mansion and were considering offers from buyers who planned to demolish the house. Daniels, however, rejected the idea and hoped to find a buyer who wanted to keep the mansion. She’d long been impressed by the work of Sheila and Ira Chaffin.

Sheila, an architect and city planner who served as the Executive Director for Campus Planning at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Ira, a renowned artist and sculptor who housed his workspace Chaffin Carousel Carving Art Studio on the floor above Dave’s Pub in Five Points South, were the owners and innkeepers of Cobb Lane Bed and Breakfast 1309 19th Street South. Daniels asked her family to accept a proposal from the Chaffins to restore the mansion to its Victorian-era glory. In 2010, the couple purchased the mansion and started the restoration to convert it into a bed and breakfast. The Chaffins also moved Ira’s studio and art school into its new home in the mansion basement.

Property redevelopment

One of the primary focuses of Kupperman Companies is the redevelopment of historic properties. The Hassinger Daniels Mansion Bed and Breakfast is the firm’s fourth acquisition in Birmingham in two years. In 2022, the company entered the Alabama market when it purchased two historic properties in partnership with the GBX group--the building at 2400 First Avenue North and the building at 2201 Third Avenue North, popularly known as the “Magic City Grille” building.

In February, Kupperman Companies and GBX Group formally announced their acquisition of the historic Black Diamond Mining Company Building at 2229 1st Avenue North in Birmingham’s Loft District. The building now houses Moxi, a childcare startup.

The Hassinger Daniels Mansion Bed and Breakfast joins the Kupperman Companies’ portfolio of hotels. The firm manages several of the historic hotel properties it has renovated and repositioned, including the Hotel St. Vincent and Catahoula Hotel in New Orleans, as well as the Mountain Chalet in Aspen, Colo.

Kupperman Companies will take over the management of the Hassinger Daniels Mansion Bed and Breakfast from Sheila Chaffin, who plans to retire after helming the hotel for 14 years. Kupperman will retain the inn’s small team while supplementing it with their own.

Future of the Hassinger Mansion

Zach Kupperman, the CEO of Kupperman Companies, told AL.com his immediate plans are to retain the Hassinger name. The firm will eventually explore a rebrand of the hotel.

“For now, we’re going to keep it as is,” Kupperman said. “We are going to explore what a repositioning looks like, maybe a rebranding. We’re going to do new furniture, but for now we’re mostly going to keep it as is and over the next year work towards the repositioning plan.”

Kupperman says repositioning could “mean a variety of different things.”

“It’s kind of a wide description. It could just be as basic as rebranding it and updating the website. It could be all new furniture. The building needs some work, so it could be painting, carpet, all the deferred maintenance fixes to it, and probably calling it something different, not just Hassinger Mansion.”

Kupperman says the building is in “pretty good shape” thanks to Chaffin’s diligent care over the years and, so far, the building doesn’t need any big renovations outside of some maintenance and light cosmetic touch-ups.

For Kupperman Companies, a hotel property in Birmingham was a natural next step.

“At a high level, we love Birmingham,” said Kupperman. “We have found it to be a very welcoming business culture.”

The firm had been searching for a small hotel in Birmingham for over a year and after looking at several opportunities, the Hassinger Daniels Mansion Bed and Breakfast was a “great fit.”

“The building itself has unbelievable bones. It is a fantastic representation of Victorian architecture, and I think it’s one of only two or three that have been preserved in Birmingham since the 1890s. So being able to be a part of that history and a steward of that history to carry it forward is something we look for in all of our properties. And that was one of the things that was really attractive here.”

Kupperman and his team visited the mansion numerous times, walking through each room to explore the building’s nooks and crannies. They also explored the artwork in the home, including the sculptures from the late Ira Chaffin’s basement studio. Another distinction, says Kupperman, was Sheila Chaffin’s dedication to preserving the historic home.

“Sheila, again, did just such an amazing job keeping the place up and developed a really fantastic reputation with guests,” said Kupperman. “She’s got repeat guests over the years and that says a lot.”

The next chapter

Sheila Chaffin is optimistic about the next chapter of the historic Hassinger Daniels Mansion Bed and Breakfast. For Chaffin, the road to finding the next - and right - owner for the home has been long and arduous.

She listed the property for sale in 2022. One potential buyer didn’t qualify. Others made cash offers to buy the mansion, but had plans to demolish it. Chaffin, an urban planner whose passion is preserving historic properties, was horrified.

“They made it quite clear and it was like, oh, step out of the house, get away! Oh my God!” Chaffin said. “[Those] interests are still occurring. I wouldn’t have expected it. Now that we have fixed it, I would have thought we’d have a different clientele, but those were the first (offers for) the house. It was so interesting.”

Chaffin was relieved and impressed by an offer from Kupperman Companies, particularly as she learned more about their past projects. She was also delighted when she learned about their plans to further protect and preserve the Hassinger Daniels Mansion.

“They are a company that has distinguished themselves by doing a number of historic restorations and procurements, and they plan all that for this house,” said Chaffin. “That was the turning point of the discussions. So that was wonderful news to me.”

Chaffin currently lives in the mansion part-time as she transitions the home. Since Kupperman is planning to update the mansion with a more modern interior, Chaffin is holding a series of estate sales to sell objects in the home, including Victorian-era inspired furniture and artwork, as well as sculptures from the studio of her late husband, who died in 2016. The first three sales were Dec. 13, 14, and 15. The next sales will be on Saturday, Dec. 21, and Sunday, Dec. 22. The sales on Saturday will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The sale on Sunday will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The mansion will close temporarily over the next two weeks for the transition before it reopens in January.

Chaffin is also ready for her next chapter. She has rented an apartment near the mansion so she can retain her neighborhood duties, including continuing to serve on the board of directors for the Five Points South Alliance.

“I enjoy such positions very much, and we’ll continue so that the civic part of my life will remain the same,” said Chaffin.

The Future of the Magic City Grille Building

Kupperman Companies is also in the midst of renovating the “Magic City Grille” building at 2201 Third Avenue North.

The property had several much-needed repairs, including chipped paint, rusted-out siding, and rotted wood around the window frames. The company started the bulk of the renovations after the three tenants in the building, Magic City Grille, Bizarre: The Coffee Bar, and Robert Hill Custom Tailors, moved out last year.

So far, the majority of the repairs have been structural, including resurfacing the building’s brick facade.

“We tried to save and repurpose all of it. The building was in very bad shape. We spent a lot of money redoing it,” Kupperman said. “The entire facade on both sides facing the street was a hundred percent redone and made structurally sound. We put in new storefront glass and [will] continue to work on it as we work to lease it.”

Kupperman says the company is in ongoing talks with prospective tenants.