Plaza Tower

[Dan the Man]

From the Times-Picayune:

Developer buys Plaza Tower to build condos

$100 million makeover planned

Friday, March 11, 2005

By Greg Thomas

Real estate writer

The vacant, leaky and asbestos-filled Plaza Tower office building will be gutted to its steel and concrete skeleton as part of a $100 million transformation into a condominium tower.

The long-troubled building was purchased for $4 million Wednesday by a group led by Baltimore developer Edward Giannasca II.

The building will be renamed Crescent City Residences and will become "the new crown jewel of New Orleans," Giannasca said.

A conceptual rendering of the remodeled Plaza Tower shows a futuristic building with staggered balconies. A restaurant, fitness center, indoor swimming pool and other amenities are planned. The building comes with a 350-space parking garage.

Dorian M. Bennett Realtors Inc. has exclusive rights to sell the 350 units, with prices starting at $350,000. Unit sizes have not been determined, but prices will be in the range of $350 per square foot, Bennett said.

That is well over the $200 to $250 per square foot for condominiums in the Warehouse District, and it approaches French Quarter condominium prices of $350 to $400 per square foot. Bennett defended the price by saying the amenities and finish of the building will be high-end. He said there are no high-rise condominiums of a similar scale in the city.

The building, which towers above the elevated Pontchartrain Expressway, was designed as an office building with apartments in upper floors, but the residential aspect never took off.

The building, at 1001 Howard Ave., is off the beaten path of Poydras Street and its modern high-rise office buildings and hotels.

Mayor Ray Nagin and New Orleans City Councilwoman Renee Gill-Pratt have been briefed on the project, and both said in written statements that they were impressed by its scale. "This building has been part of our city's history and when complete will represent our city's future," Gill-Pratt said.

The 44-story building was abandoned by 700 state workers in 2002 after years of complaints and lawsuits from the workers, who alleged that the building's owners and managers were negligent about maintaining the structure, thereby exposing workers to so-called toxic mold and asbestos.

Insurance companies for owners and managers settled claims from the state workers last year, but a lawsuit on behalf of state workers continues against their employers, the Louisiana Department of Social Services and the Department of Health and Hospitals.

A big problem for the previous owners and building management was fines from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality for improperly handling asbestos, a carcinogen, which had been sprayed on the building's steel beams as a fire retardant. That matter was recently settled.

Other problems in the building include rampant window, roof and pipe leaks that have resulted in mold growth, faulty elevators that trapped workers, and asbestos that could easily be jarred loose and allegedly fell onto work spaces.

"It's leaky, moldy and filled everywhere with asbestos," said local architect John Williams, who has been hired to work on the project. "All of that will be gone."

Only materials approved by the U.S. Green Building Council will be used in the reconstruction. In fact, architects are designing a building that will be a LEED structure, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, said Williams, of John C. Williams Architects. Williams said Crescent City Residences will be the first LEED-certified building in the city.

All of the building's glass and stone panels will be replaced. It's uncertain what type of skin will be placed on the building, Williams said. He expects his first major design meeting this weekend. Baltimore firm Marks Thomas Architects has joined Williams on the project.

Only the building's steel frame and concrete floors will remain after demolition while the removal of the asbestos, which some have estimated could cost as much as $10 million , will be handled by professional asbestos abatement contractors, Williams said.

It will be cheaper to gut and rebuild than demolish it and build new, Williams said. Besides, "the building has great bones," he said.

Don Hutchinson, Nagin's director of economic development, said he has been briefed on the project and was glad to hear of the estimated 760 construction jobs the developer says will be created. He said there is no public assistance for the project and that the only role of the city will be to enforce zoning and planning regulations.

Hutchinson said he was told the sale closed when transfer documents were filed at the office of the Orleans Parish Conveyance office late Wednesday.

The work will significantly increase the property taxes paid on the building and restore to commerce a problematic building that is, for better or worse, a city landmark.

Local attorney and political consultant Billy Broadhurst has been the local representative for Giannasca in the deal, and he briefed public officials on the project. Broadhurst could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The sale was made possible by the elimination of a lawsuit brought by Royal Towers Plaza LLC against the building's owners and management, doing business as BG Real Estate Services Inc. and NOOB I LP, respectively.

Royal Towers, represented by Neil Fisher of Florida, signed a $4 million purchase agreement for the building with a BG executive in late 2003, but sued last year when BG advertised in The Wall Street Journal that the building's mortgage would be auctioned.

An Orleans Parish state judge issued a restraining order barring any sale. That injunction was removed when Royal Plaza Towers stepped aside and allowed Giannasca to buy the property.

Mondona and Schumann Rafizadeh of Houston and Bahram Arjmandi of Stillwater, Okla., are the principles behind BG and NOOB I. They were unavailable for comment Thursday.

Giannasca leads Giannasca Development Group LLC of Baltimore. Another investor in the Plaza Tower deal is retired National Football League linebacker Michael McCrary.

Giannasca Development is working with the Midtown Group of Miami on a $155 million Baltimore Inner-Harbor Ritz-Carlton Residences condominium project, which is transforming a former shipyard into 174 condos.

Midtown owns Twi Ro Pa Mills, the music venue on Tchoupitoulas Street in the Lower Garden District.

Plaza Tower was designed by Leonard Spangenberg, a student of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Construction on the Plaza Tower began in 1964 but didn't wrap up until 1968 and was plagued by problems, including Hurricane Betsy. The original developer went bankrupt.

Plaza Tower and the World Trade Center at the foot of Canal Street were the first 1960s-era modern high-rises to tower above New Orleans until the building boom of the 1980s, which brought the construction of Canal Street high-rise hotels and the office-hotel corridor of Poydras Street.

. . . . . . .

Greg Thomas can be reached at gthomas@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3399

[jmancuso]

this building, right?

[tw2ntyse7en]

...

[Astro]

Thanks for the great pic!!!

I grew up in the New Orleans area... That building is definitely a landmark and I really hate to hear that it will be altered. Personally I think it looks great the way it is.

I know my view is probably in the minority though, so I guess I can't blame the owners for wanting to update it. It's really just too bad that building has been plagued with so many problems in the past.

I'm actually still upset about the loss of the brutalist 1960's Rivergate building where the casino is today.

As to the Plaza Tower, there'still another similar-looking hotel tower (not visible in the photo) from that same era -- the Hyatt hotel which is adjacent to the magnificent Superdome! Thank goodness they're still around.

The building, at 1001 Howard Ave., is off the beaten path of Poydras Street and its modern high-rise office buildings and hotels.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is an odd statement. I'd hardly call it "off the beaten path" just because it isn't on Poydras Street?!?!?! It's right at the foot of Canal St. right on the river. The casino is right across the street on one side and the French Quarter is across the street on another. Plus it's on Canal St. which has lots of other big hotels and stores. Why call it "off the beaten path"?!?!?!

[NYC Texan3]

This building is on the opposite end of downtown from the casino. It is on the river-side of the Superdome and several blocks uptown of Poydras.

[kjb434]

It is also in an area of residential boom with the warehouse district clost by. It seems New Orleans is again in the downtown residential game from Houston.

If I moved back to Louisiana, I'll probably get a loft in the warehouse district. I can just get on the riverfront trolley to anything in town including shopping.

The area is really improving especially with the new mayor.

[JWR]

I wasn't sure if any of you had seen the rendering for the Plaza Tower. As it looks right now, the Plaza Tower is one of the most hated buildings in the city. The building sticks out like a sore thumb, not just because of it's appearance, but also because it sits about four blocks or so away from Poydras St., which is the high-rise corridor. The reason that the developers chose to build where they did, is because at the time, Loyola Ave. was to become the high-rise corridor. After the widening of Poydras, building started popping up. Many hope that this project will spur construction along Loyola. For the past 30 years or so, the only business has been street-level parking lots.

[kjb434]

This will be an outstanding addition to the skyline. Well, it's already there, but a great remodle. It looks very modern European.

Hey,

JWR, do you know what the other building currently going up in downtown is? I think it is right by the casino. I think it might be the new hotel for the Casino.

[JWR]

Yes, Harrah's is building it's 26 or 27 story hotel. I say 26 or 27 because you could never get a straight answer. I've heard 23, 24, and 27. The main room floors are 8'-6" from slab to slab, so even with 27 floors, the building won't overshadow the Lowe's by much. The street level front should tie in nicely with the casino facade. Oh, and I think it's 8 rooms per floor.

[kjb434]

Cool, thanks for the info.

I guess you can be our eyes and ears in New Orleans.

[JWR]

Sure thing

[JWR]

This is an odd statement. I'd hardly call it "off the beaten path" just because it isn't on Poydras Street?!?!?! It's right at the foot of Canal St. right on the river. The casino is right across the street on one side and the French Quarter is across the street on another. Plus it's on Canal St. which has lots of other big hotels and stores. Why call it "off the beaten path"?!?!?!

The Plaza Tower isn't at the foot of Canal St. The World Trade Center is.

The building to left is the World Trade Center of New Orleans (former Internation Tade Mart):

You also get a pretty good view of Harrah's Casino.

As you can see from the map, Plaza Tower isn't near the river:

http://image.maps.yahoo.com/mapimage?MAPDa...0s5v7rQYHuhRbro

But because it sits off to the side of the main cluster of high-rises, it will give some beautiful views of downtown. If you look close enough in my signature, you'll see a tall building sitting off by itself all the way to the left. That's the Plaza Tower.