Owners of collapsed Hard Rock site want to demolish three of their other buildings nearby – WDSU New Orleans

Questions are being raised about demolition applications filed with the city of New Orleans as part of the plan to tear down the partially collapsed Hard Rock construction site. The 18-story structure, which still holds two bodies of the three construction workers killed in the collapse, has had an uncertain future since it caved in Oct. 12. The city announced recently that the site cannot be safely imploded and must be demolished piece by piece. Mayor LaToya Cantrell said engineers want to bring in large cranes to pluck apart the debris and recover the bodies. She said the heavy equipment needs clear lines of sight to safely operate, which is why three buildings near the Hard Rock could be demolished.The Hard Rock site sits on the corner of Rampart and Canal Streets, with no buildings on the street-facing sides.We have our people that need to get out of that building, Cantrell said Monday. Public safety has always led us. It will continue to, but as it relates to the adjacent buildings, I would say Im absolutely in favor of the demolition should it come down to a line of sight making it safer to deal with the demolition of the Hard Rock.1031 Canal Development owns the Hard Rock site and the three buildings that could also be torn down, located at 1019 and 1027 Canal St. and 1022 Iberville St. New Orleans City Council member Kristen Gisleson Palmer said she has not been briefed on the newly filed permits but the interest of the owners is concerning.We need to do our due diligence, because basically it could become a much larger development and I think you have to be thoughtful about that, Palmer said. We have to make sure that this isnt a potential land grab.An attorney for 1031 Canal Development, Steven Dwyer, said the owners only objective is public safety. In a statement to WDSU, Dwyer said: The plan for demolition is not being developed by the owner. It is being developed by professional engineers who are working for the owner and who are working for the city. The professionals are developing from a scientific point of view the safest method for demolition. The owners are in no way influencing the work of the engineers. They are following the professional opinion of the engineers to develop the safest possible plan.WDSU requested copies of the demolition permit applications from the city of New Orleans on Monday. The city cited the recent cyberattack on city government, which has left the permitting office offline, for denying that public records request.

Questions are being raised about demolition applications filed with the city of New Orleans as part of the plan to tear down the partially collapsed Hard Rock construction site. The 18-story structure, which still holds two bodies of the three construction workers killed in the collapse, has had an uncertain future since it caved in Oct. 12. The city announced recently that the site cannot be safely imploded and must be demolished piece by piece.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell said engineers want to bring in large cranes to pluck apart the debris and recover the bodies. She said the heavy equipment needs clear lines of sight to safely operate, which is why three buildings near the Hard Rock could be demolished.

The Hard Rock site sits on the corner of Rampart and Canal Streets, with no buildings on the street-facing sides.

We have our people that need to get out of that building, Cantrell said Monday. Public safety has always led us. It will continue to, but as it relates to the adjacent buildings, I would say Im absolutely in favor of the demolition should it come down to a line of sight making it safer to deal with the demolition of the Hard Rock.

1031 Canal Development owns the Hard Rock site and the three buildings that could also be torn down, located at 1019 and 1027 Canal St. and 1022 Iberville St. New Orleans City Council member Kristen Gisleson Palmer said she has not been briefed on the newly filed permits but the interest of the owners is concerning.

We need to do our due diligence, because basically it could become a much larger development and I think you have to be thoughtful about that, Palmer said. We have to make sure that this isnt a potential land grab.

An attorney for 1031 Canal Development, Steven Dwyer, said the owners only objective is public safety. In a statement to WDSU, Dwyer said: The plan for demolition is not being developed by the owner. It is being developed by professional engineers who are working for the owner and who are working for the city. The professionals are developing from a scientific point of view the safest method for demolition. The owners are in no way influencing the work of the engineers. They are following the professional opinion of the engineers to develop the safest possible plan.

WDSU requested copies of the demolition permit applications from the city of New Orleans on Monday. The city cited the recent cyberattack on city government, which has left the permitting office offline, for denying that public records request.

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Owners of collapsed Hard Rock site want to demolish three of their other buildings nearby - WDSU New Orleans