New Orleans Hard Rock Hotel

DTGstl314 · PostOct 21, 2019#12019-10-21T03:41+00:00

Here's not something you see very often - cranes coming down, via controlled demolition:

The rest of the building is obviously going to be a total loss, and once they've recovered the bodies of the two construction workers killed in last week's collapse, the whole building will be brought down.

That's a year of construction progress completely lost on a 350 room, 18 story hotel which also included 62 private residences.

symphonicpoet · PostOct 21, 2019#22019-10-21T04:43+00:00

^That one just makes me about four flavors of angry. Someone massively screwed up there and I sincerely hope the right lessons are learned.

Also: Holy cow, but even the demo didn't go well. I have a hard time believing the second crane was supposed to be precariously hanging off the top story of the crime scene when this was all said and done.

sc4mayor · PostOct 21, 2019#32019-10-21T13:41+00:00

^ According to reporting I saw in the NYT today the crane demo didn’t go as planned...

quincunx · PostOct 21, 2019#42019-10-21T14:03+00:00

Seemed every news show on TV showed it yesterday

stlgasm · PostOct 21, 2019#52019-10-21T15:11+00:00

Will the hotel be rebuilt?

dbInSouthCity · PostOct 21, 2019#62019-10-21T18:45+00:00

N.O. fire dept said the crane demo went "as expected, including a ruptured sewer line"....

DogtownBnR · PostOct 21, 2019#72019-10-21T19:14+00:00

The general contractor will be lucky to survive this. I doubt they will. Check out what comes up when you go to Citadel's site.

http://www.citadelbuilders.com/

Thank you for visiting www.citadelbuilders.com. We appreciate the outpouring of support and concern over the tragic accident at our future Hard Rock Hotel site in New Orleans. We are shocked and saddened that there was loss of life, but we are equally grateful that the majority those injured are now resting comfortably at home with their families. We will continue to monitor the condition of those who remain under medical care.

At Citadel Builders, safety has always been and shall remain a priority for our employees and subcontractors. In the 16 years since we opened our doors, we have completed over $700 million in projects across Louisiana without any OSHA violations or Loss Time Accidents. We have also been a multi-year recipient of the Step Safety Award from the Louisiana Association of Builders and Contractors. We are proud of this impeccable record, and have worked hard to achieve it. While we don't yet know what caused the accident at the Hard Rock site, we would like our clients, friends, and the general public to rest assured that we are working with some of the finest engineering minds in the world and will get to the bottom of it.

From our leadership and our employees, we thank you for your well wishes and ask that you keep the deceased and injured in your prayers.

(Continue to full site)

dbInSouthCity · PostOct 21, 2019#82019-10-21T19:37+00:00

but we are equally grateful that the majority those injured are now resting comfortably at home with their families. We will continue to monitor the condition of those who remain under medical care.

I would probably have not included this part....what is this china where losing a few on a job is ok?

DTGstl314 · PostOct 21, 2019#92019-10-21T21:10+00:00

It gets worse - it appears some of the construction workers were concerned about a possible collapse days before it happened. Seems like really shoddy materials and lots of building codes might have been ignored with this one. The lawsuits are gonna be huge...

urbanitas · PostOct 22, 2019#102019-10-22T06:56+00:00

^There have been a lot of crane collapses of course, but I don't recall ever seeing tower cranes demolished with explosives. I think that's a first, in the US anyway. But there will be a lot of firsts with this. I can't think of a building of this scale collapsing during construction in the US, to the extent that the building is a total loss, either. It is amazing that more workers weren't killed.

PostOct 22, 2019#112019-10-22T07:00+00:00

stlgasm wrote: ↑
Oct 21, 2019
Will the hotel be rebuilt?

Probably not until all of the lawsuits are settled.

In a situation like this, I doubt insurers will pay any claims until fault is determined through litigation, because the claims will be huge, and that process will take many years. So, the developer, general contractor, subcontractors all have money tied up in construction costs that they will not be able to get or make payments on until that is resolved, to say nothing of their potential liabilities for the collapse. The lender(s) will likely have to foreclose on the property to recover what they can, which will be another lengthy process. And I can't imagine any new developer or lender wanting to go anywhere near that mess.

I wonder who is going to pay for the demolition. It will have to happen quickly, so I'd guess New Orleans will have to bear the cost and then join the litigation to try to recover it, in addition to all of their infrastructure repair costs...

PostMay 13, 2021#122021-05-13T23:51+00:00

It's finally gone.

NOLA.com: 1½ years after Hard Rock Hotel collapse, these New Orleans streets set to reopen

symphonicpoet · PostMay 14, 2021#132021-05-14T06:34+00:00

^You've got me down a rabbit hole looking at New Orleans theatres, but . . . good. That town deserves a break. (Fine fine rabbit hole, by the way.)

GoHarvOrGoHome · PostJul 31, 2023#142023-07-31T16:53+00:00

RTA Rampart streetcar line reopening pushed back to 2024 amid infrastructure delays

Heading down to NOLA this weekend, disappointed to hear that the brand new (2016) Rampart Streetcar is STILL closed from the Hard Rock collapse in 2019. Aiming for 2024 now.

Our transit situation in STL is far from ideal, but be thankful that repairing it after the floods last year was a priority. It seems like this line is being held up by, needing new poles for the electrical wires?