3013 General Ogden Pro Bono Fire Damage Repairs

When Hollygrove resident LaVerne Pinkney’s house was nearly destroyed by a fire on New Year’s Eve, she worried that without any homeowner’s insurance to cover costs, she would never be able to afford the necessary repairs to remain in her family home of 54 years. With this tragedy happening to one of our neighbors just blocks away from our main office, Landis did not hesitate to step up and reach out. With the amazing outpour of support and additional help from various subcontractors, City Councilmember Joe Giarrusso’s office, community partners, and nearby residents, Landis was able to complete the pro bono repairs of 3013 General Ogden Street in just several short months, allowing Ms. Pinkey to return home in March.

Our team responded almost immediately, prioritizing triage, damage assessment, permitting, and materials needed to get this work done as quickly as possible while ensuring the highest quality results, as with any other for-hire project Landis takes on. Much of the fire damage was contained within the house’s tattered riverside wall, which abuts the driveway, and the attic, which was set ablaze by flames that traveled up through the house’s metal rain gutters, leaving a good portion of the house’s first floor intact. Over the final two months, our work crews were able to repair all of the electrical wirings, replaced the walls, laid new floors, and even shored up the house so that it stood level.

The home on General Ogden is where Ms. Pinkney and her children were all raised and still reside, having survived Hurricane Katrina (despite some damages and issues with a fraudulent contractor for those repairs). This terrible accident could not have come at a worse time with so many struggling to stay afloat already during COVID-10, so you can imagine how this unexpected hardship was most difficult for her to bear.

Giving back to our surrounding community has always been and remains at the forefront of everything we do at Landis. A commitment that was started by our founder Fred Landis, continued by his son Jim Landis and prioritized even more so today under the leadership of our third-generation CEO Anne Teague Landis.