Conspicuous Consumption: Llenroc Estate

There has been a great buzz around my town lately concerning the sale of an infamous property called Llenroc.  It was built in 1990 for a rumored $30 million by the late Albert Lawrence.  Lawrence owned and operated a Schenectady company that included insurance and investment companies, but the Lawrence Group filed for bankruptcy in 1997. Lawrence was subsequently investigated and found guilty of fraud, embezzlement, and tax evasion. He spent 3 months in jail but was released due to a terminal illness. He died in 2002.

Llenroc, Cornell spelled backward, is said to be modeled after a building at Cornell University, the alma mater of both Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence.  It is a monument to ostentation.  Located on 12.5 acres of land fronting the Mohawk River, the 34-room mansion is 5 stories of grandeur: 24-karat gold gilding in the dining room, 32 miles of mahogany trim, $3.5 million-worth of Scandinavian marble, terraces paved with Adirondack flagstone, and 1200 tons of stone trucked from the Cornell area so Llenroc would be authentic. It has a glass elevator, 5 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, 8 fountains, an indoor swimming pool, and 15 fireplaces.  It also has an underground parking garage capable of holding 15-20 cars, and even has its own helipad.

The Lawrences lost Llenroc to foreclosure, and it was purchased for just $1.4 million in 2003; sounds like a bargain to me!  It is now back on the market for $12.9 million, but hey--the taxes wouldn't be too bad since the town hasn't reassessed properties in nearly 10 years.  Llenroc is only assessed at $1.75 million--another bargain!

I realize that in other parts of the world there are mansions and estates worth many millions of dollars, but Llenroc is off the charts for this town.  It was constructed with fraudulent funds and no sense of place or community. Ironically, for all the Lawrence airs, their mansion is directly across the river from a small nuclear reactor at an atomic power laboratory.  Wouldn't be my first choice for a building site!

If you would like to read more about Llenroc and see pictures of the interior, check out the following link:

http://www.luxist.com/2007/10/04/llenroc-estate-estate-of-the-day/