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FEBRUARY 13, 2002 |
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SNELLINGS-LANDRIEU, REED |
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It’s taken nearly four years to custom-build a large brick mansion for Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and her lawyer-builder husband, Frank Snellings, and their two young children, Connor and Mary Shannon. But the Snellings-Landrieu home will be a Capitol Hill showplace, neighbors agree. In fact, it’s expected to become a kind of embassy for the state of Louisiana in the 400 block of East Capitol Street. It is now close to completion, though tight-lipped owner and project manager Snellings declined to comment about their ambitious architectural effort. (The family has lived in a rented row house nearby during the long construction process.) |
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Its cost also remains a closely held number, although sources say it’s well over $1 million, in light of such delicate touches as hand-cut slates, copper roof work, stone lintels and much top-of-the-line custom carpentry. Snellings took over as contractor shortly after the walls started to rise, donning a hard hat and spending many hours at the site. He earned a reputation as an exacting boss who took great pains to perfect every aspect of the house. The designer is a New Orleans architect, David Waggoner. The site, the last large close-in lot on the south side of the wide street, has only one drawback: lack of parking space. The family was able to circumvent city requirements that new houses include off-street parking by successfully filing an appeal for a variance with the Board of Zoning Adjustment. So the Snellings-Landrieu family will have to rough it by parking on the street, although the senator’s workplace is within easy walking distance. She’s a member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and chairs its District subcommittee. Landrieu, who had a career in real estate before rising in Louisiana politics, won a bitterly contested election in the 1996 cycle, winning by less than 6,000 votes. She’s considered vulnerable in November. During the campaign she portrayed herself as a fighter for the middle-class and the working poor. But her concern for ordinary folks comes from on high: The couple has reported assets of $1.85 million (Landrieu) and $4.2 million (Snellings) according to public filings. Landrieu’s Senate campaign received considerable support from building trades’ unions. Nevertheless, Snellings used non-union labor on the mansion. |
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