Hard Rock Hotel could be delayed two years after deadly collapse
Hard Rock International chairman Jim Allen said Monday completion of its New Orleans hotel could be delayed two years after the structure partially collapsed this month.
Three workers died and dozens were injured in the incident Oct. 12.
“Our prayers are with the families,” Allen said on FOX Business’ “Cavuto: Coast to Coast.” "It's important to want to move forward, but we certainly have to work through the process itself. The surrounding businesses, all that economic impact, is something we’re trying to focus on.”
Two unstable cranes loom over the construction of a Hard Rock Hotel, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019, in New Orleans. The 18-story hotel project that was under construction collapsed last Saturday, killing three workers. Two bodies remain in the wreckage. Au (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The city tried to bring down two cranes at the construction site Sunday using controlled explosions. One crane landed on the damaged section of the building as planned, while the other fell to Rampart Street and damaged a sewer line, New Orleans Fire Department Superintendent Tim McConnell said.
Allen said Hard Rock is not rethinking the project as a whole.
Two large cranes from the Hard Rock Hotel construction collapse come crashing down after being detonated for implosion in New Orleans, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. New Orleans officials set off several explosions Sunday intended to topple two cranes that h
“Certainly, the structural integrity of the building itself is in question,” Allen said. “So, if the building has to come down completely, then obviously that puts us back two years.”
The New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said the building will be totally demolished.
"I don't want anything salvaged on this site," Cantrell said. "I want a complete demolition."
Workers in a bucket, right, begin the process of planting explosive charges on two unstable cranes at the Hard Rock Hotel, which underwent a partial, major collapse on Saturday, Oct. 12, in New Orleans, viewed on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Ge (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Allen said he believes they did the proper due diligence when researching the site.
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"These things do happen," Allen said. "You never want to lose sight of the fact that we have human loss here. And to us, right now, that's the most important thing we're focused on.”
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FOX Business' James Leggate contributed to this report.