The street next to the decaying Plaza Tower has reopened after new safety measures securing the vacant building were put in place.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced Wednesday that South Rampart Street, which runs next to the building, has reopened to traffic.
She said the Department of Public Works reopened the roadway after Joe Jaeger, the current owner of the blighted property, installed additional safety netting and barriers around the building. The property has been the focus of safety concerns over vagrants setting fires inside and pieces of the marble façade falling to the ground.
Those safety concerns led to the street being closed for more than a month.
“So we know that the owner has completed the new protective measures as well as to the exterior of the building, and code enforcement has inspected and approved these proactive measures,” Cantrell said at her weekly news conference.
The building is currently in the process of being sold and Cantrell says the owner will pay for the city’s cost to close the roadway and all costs of city inspections.
"Officials will now begin submitting all costs incurred to the city for necessary road closures and inspections and will host a cost hearing. So that is forthcoming," Cantrell said. "I know that this was also at the request of the New Orleans City Council. It's something that we want to do no problem doing it and it will be held."
Jaeger has said he's giving up on his plans to redevelop the abandoned skyscraper, which was New Orleans' tallest building when it was completed in 1969, and has put it up for sale.