A bicyclist was struck and injured Thursday by paneling that blew off the abandoned Plaza Tower skyscraper in New Orleans’ Central Business District, officials said.

High winds dislodged pieces of the 45-story building at 1001 Howard Ave. before 4:30 p.m., said Jonathan Fourcade of Emergency Medical Services. One piece hit a passing cyclist, who was taken to an area hospital. The biker's injuries were not thought to be life-threatening, Fourcade said.

City officials said traffic would be blocked around the building until winds subsided. It was unclear how long the closures might last.

Plaza Tower was built in 1969 and was one of the city's first skyscrapers. After the Superdome was built and Poydras Street became the city's financial center, tenants steadily left the high rise for better downtown locations. Eventually, toxic mold and asbestos found in the building prompted several class action lawsuits against the building's owner at the time. 

Plaza Tower has been vacant and unused since 2002.

The current owner, Alexandra Land & Development LLC, purchased the building in 2014 and performed asbestos remediation, according an April report by WDSU. The company's agent is Ryan Jaeger, son of prominent real estate developer Joseph Jaeger, who did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

The company put together a prospectus and worked with a broker to identify potential redevelopment projects, but the pandemic halted things, officials told WDSU.

“Today the financial markets for hospitality projects are not interested at this time, and we are hoping that next year, financing will loosen up,” the statement said. "Plaza Tower won't be taken to the financial market until after the first of the year.

City Councilman Jay Banks said the fact that there were only minor injuries from Thursday's accident was "a blessing from God" that should serve as a wake-up call that something needs to be done with the tower. In the short term, he said he was calling on the Department of Safety and Permits to inspect the building to ensure there would not be another incident, particularly with hurricane season starting in 11 days.

And he said he hoped that the attention brought to the tower could serve to spur its owners to sell or redevelop the building. Banks said he hoped to see it used for affordable housing.

"Maybe this will be the impetus to encourage some progress on it. We certainly don't want it to continue to deteriorate," he said.

This is not the first time dangerous debris has plunged to the street from New Orleans buildings that have fallen into disrepair. In 2011, concrete soffits from one side of the 33-story World Trade Center building broke off and crashed almost 400 feet into the street. 

In August 2014, a chunk of stone cornice from Gallier Hall's façade crashed on the steps below. No one was injured in either incident.

Jeff Adelson contributed to this report. 

Email Ramon Antonio Vargas at rvargas@theadvocate.com. 

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