Former World Trade Center redevelopment to begin May 1

Listen to this article

Construction to transform the former World Trade Center at the foot of Canal Street into a $450 million Four Seasons hotel and residences is set to begin on May 1.

The project will create 1,600 construction jobs, according to a news release.

It will also affect a streetcar route along the riverfront. Service at the Poydras Street and Julia Street stations will be suspended beginning May 14 for approximately 18 to 24 months for safety reasons.

The project by developer Carpenter & Co. will put more than 300 guest rooms, 80 hotel condos, a restaurant, rooftop pool, spa and 28,000 square feet of meeting space into the 33-story tower. Boston-based CambridgeSeven is the lead architect.

The work will reportedly take around two years to complete. The developer anticipates creating 450 permanent full-time jobs from the hotel, which is anticipated to contribute $10 million annually to local coffers via property and hotel occupancy tax revenues.

“For many, the most distinctive feature of the historic landmark World Trade Center is the two-story rooftop cupola,” the developer said on its marketing website. “Originally a restaurant in the round, this space would become a spectacular sightseeing attraction—a celebration of African American culture in Louisiana—the music, the food and the traditions.”

Lawsuits filed three years ago by Stuart “Neil” Fisher, a Florida real estate investor and the owner of a company called Two Canal Street Investors, sought to stop the development. Fisher charged that the city’s bid selection process was faulty—an assertion effectively rejected by an Orleans Civil District judge after neither Fisher nor his attorney showed up for the trial.

The Louisiana Supreme Court last year refused to hear Fisher’s appeal.

To sign up for free CityBusiness Daily Updates, click here.