NEW ORLEANS — Plans to bring down the Hard Rock Hotel collapse site are once again changing, but the back and forth between the city of New Orleans and the developer, 1031 Canal Development LLC, remains the same.
In a statement to WWL-TV Friday, 1031 Canal plans a traditional demolition, pending a permit from the city, and engineering plans are expected to be submitted April 22nd.
The city already accused 1031 Canal of failing to submit plans Thursday, which the city’s attorney indicated were instructions from a civil court. In its statement, 1031 Canal maintains those plans were only a request from the city with an “artificial” deadline.
The city has been pushing for an implosion of the site, to be handled by D.H. Griffin Companies, but because the company said it can’t afford the $50 million insurance policy, 1031 Canal said plans need to change.
According to 1031 Canal’s statement, if the new plan, to use Kolb Grading, is approved, it would take about six months to complete.
While the city and the developer can’t seem to agree on much, they do agree on one thing. Both want the partially collapsed building taken down as soon as possible and retrieve the bodies of the two workers still trapped inside, but all the back and forth is keeping that from happening.
“This is taking too long,” said New Orleans deputy chief administrative officer, Ramsey Green, in an interview last week.
In that interview, Green said the longer the building is up, the more potential for problems.
“We have June 1st as hurricane season ahead and we have an incredibly unstable building in the commercial center of our city,” said Green.
In an email sent to nearby businesses at the collapse site, 1031 Canal even points fingers at the city for holding up demolition and accuses the city of “spreading lies.”
The city’s attorney pushed back Friday evening. In a statement, she wrote 1031 Canal has had six months to come up with a demolition contract and the hold up is not because of the city.
Once demolition plans are submitted to the city, there will have to be a review process before approval, which means there’s still no date on when demolition can begin.
City Hall sent the following response:
“Six months after the collapse, 1031 Canal has yet to produce any demolition plans for their collapsed Hard Rock hotel building. The Kailas family / 1031 Canal St. Development LLC, does not have, and has not submitted, licensed engineer stamped demolition plans for their collapsed building to date. They certainly are NOT waiting on the City’s response, as they do not have, and have not submitted, a demolition plan.
"In the interest of public safety, and in working to ensure that no further lives are lost or damages suffered as part of this ongoing catastrophic disaster, a detailed demolition plan is a very basic and necessary requirement. Apparently, all deadlines are artificial, as 1031 Canal has had six months to finalize a contract and move a demolition plan forward, and unfortunately, we are all still waiting,” New Orleans City Attorney Sunni LeBeouf said.
Here's 1031 Canal's response:
"1031 Canal Development is prepared to proceed with demolition of the Hard Rock site, pending a permit issued by the City of New Orleans. It has contracted for that demolition with Kolb Grading, a nationally regarded demolition contractor, and Kolb is prepared to mobilize at the site immediately after Easter, even before the permit is issued. The project is fully funded.
"Contrary to previous reports and the City’s press release, there is no court order for submission of stamped engineering plans for demolition, only a request (and an artificial deadline) from the City. Pursuant to that request, engineering plans are being prepared by a licensed engineer working with Kolb, with an expected submission date of April 22.
"1031 Canal Development entered into the contract with Kolb to carry out a traditional demolition to retrieve the remains as quickly as possible and to safely demolish the building. Kolb is a qualified company with an excellent safety record and relevant experience. DH Griffin, previously promoted by the City to implode the building, not only failed to provide engineering for implosion but also failed to obtain the insurance that was agreed upon with State, City and 1031, and therefore could not perform in accordance with its agreements.
"From the time the building collapsed, 1031 Canal Development has been working to retrieve the remains of the two men who died in the collapse and remain in the building and demolish the building safely. However, since the collapse, the City has exercised control over the site."
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