Plaza Tower, the 45-story skyscraper at 1001 Howard Avenue in New Orleans’ Central Business District, remains one of the city’s tallest and most closely watched vacant buildings. The tower rises 531 feet and is listed as the third-tallest building in New Orleans, behind Hancock Whitney Center and Place St. Charles.

Construction on Plaza Tower began in 1964, and the building was completed in the late 1960s. It was designed by Leonard R. Spangenberg Jr. & Associates and originally functioned as an office tower, with residential space planned for the upper floors.

For a short period, Plaza Tower was the tallest building in New Orleans and Louisiana. That changed in 1972, when the taller Hancock Whitney Center, then known as One Shell Square, surpassed it. Even after later high-rise development downtown, Plaza Tower kept a prominent place in the skyline because of its edge-of-CBD location and distinctive crown.

The building has been unused since 2002, after tenants raised concerns about worsening conditions, including asbestos and toxic mold. Later redevelopment efforts proposed new names such as Crescent City Towers and Crescent City Residences, but those plans did not bring the building back into active use.

Plaza Tower’s condition has made it a major downtown blight and safety issue. Reports of falling debris, street closures, fires and other incidents have kept the tower in public focus, and city officials at one point considered demolition as a possible path forward.

The current redevelopment question centers on whether Plaza Tower can be converted into housing instead of being torn down. Lincoln Avenue Communities has had the property under contract, with plans reported for senior apartments, but recent reporting said funding challenges are threatening the redevelopment plan. For New Orleans commercial real estate, Plaza Tower remains a rare case: a major skyline asset with historic value, severe vacancy issues and an uncertain future.

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