NEW ORLEANS – A local developer who said his company had recently received money from FEMA to rebuild a vacant building said he was awakened Tuesday morning by a friend who called to say the city was tearing the building down.
Wilbert Thomas Sr., said he had and his organization, Desire Community Housing, been going back and forth with FEMA over money to redevelop a lot on the corner of Piety and Florida Streets since Katrina badly-damaged the entire area in 2005.
Thomas said the group was recently awarded $5.4 million and planned to build a pharmacy and medical offices but was awaiting an environmental impact report before working on the building.
He said he received the phone call and then went to the site only to see it being torn down.
"They should have notified us that they were coming so that we could explain why the building was still there and what we were doing," said thomas. "We didn't want to move or do anything to make sure there wasn't anything toxic. And, that is a steel building, so how was it going to fall down."
"The roof was caving in, we had an exterior wall that fell off and the building was determined to be in imminent danger of collapse, which was done in consultation with code enforcement and the safety and permits department," said Snapper Poche, the director of the city's code enforcement.
Thomas said he had not been notified of the planned demolition, but city officials said a notice was placed on the building.
Thomas said his group would continue with plans to redevelop the area, but called the demolition a "major setback."