NEW ORLEANS — One of the New Orleans most visible and contentious eyesores, the Plaza Tower building on Loyola Avenue, could have cost the owners of the high-rise more than $1 million for longstanding code violations and daily fines, but the city instead fined the owners $4,075.
And of those fines for 11 code violations and $1,003,750 in potential penalties since 2021, owner Joe Jaeger hasn’t been forced to pay anything, according to a report released Monday by the New Orleans Inspector General.
“Rather than pay the $4,075 judgment or the daily fines, the owners filed a suspensive appeal in the Orleans Civil District Court, effectively halting the City’s ability to enforce the judgment,” the seven-page report states.
In a story in May that chronicled the troubled history of the once-iconic building, WWL-TV revealed the Jaeger reported being engaged in discussions with a potential buyer for the 45-story structure, New Orleans’ first high-rise when it opened in 1969.
Controversy over the building has exploded over the past several years, starting with debris that fell from the rooftop in 2021, striking and injuring a bicyclist.
After more debris fell in following weeks, portions of Loyola Avenue below the building were closed to traffic, forcing Jaeger to construct a “hair net” surrounding the rooftop to keep more pieces of the building from falling to the ground.
In April 2023, a fire broke out in the building. Vagrants fled the structure as the New Orleans Fire Department arrived, and a man fell to his death.
That sparked the New Orleans City Council, led by District B Council Member Lesli Harris to urge stronger action to secure the property.
According to the IG report, police have been called to the property 170 times between January 2021 and July 2023 for complaints such as “trespassing, drug activity, burglary and aggravated assault.”
At the May council meeting to discuss the issue, President J.P. Morrell said “the Plaza Tower at this point stands as a monument of neglect and the city turning a blind eye to the tremendous blighted structure at the foot of our city at the entrance.”
But Mayor LaToya Cantrell and the administration pushed back against any council action, seemingly aligned with Jaeger’s contention that any action against him would hurt the chances for a sale of the building.
A hearing by the city’s Division of Code Enforcement is scheduled for Tuesday to assess the fines as well as the ongoing costs of the blight to the city, the report states.
Whatever the outcome of the hearing, the IG report recommends that the city set a “reasonable, but firm deadline, for the sale of the property to a new party.”
In that deadline isn’t met, the city should proceed with a plan either for demolition or “a public-private partnership” to chart a new course for the building, as well as collection of fines against Jaeger.
“The City cannot continue to allow the hope of future economic gain to stall enforcement against a present threat to the safety of citizens and visitors,” the report states.