NEW ORLEANS – The City of New Orleans has dismissed one proposed method of demolishing the partly collapsed Hard Rock Hotel construction site and is now in the process of evaluating a new plan.

According to WWL-TV, the new demolition plan will not involve implosion.

On Tuesday night, the building owners, 1031 Canal Development LLC, released a statement about the new plan, saying, “After continuing consultations with multiple leading experts in the field and numerous test models, 1031 canal development, LLC has been advised that a demolition by implosion will result in a debris field extending well beyond the perimeter of the building, endangering the nearby area.”

Owners believe a demolition that picks the building apart from the top down would not only be safer but would offer a more feasible means of recovering the two bodies that are still inside of the structure.

That said, site cleanup would still take six or seven months and this has some locals and nearby business owners antsy. 

Officials say they understand why the public is anxious to see the issue resolved, and they're attempting to allay concerns by explaining exactly why the demolition and cleanup process has become such a lengthy undertaking.

New Orleans Fire Dept. Chief Tim McConnell, for example, addressed concerns by saying, “One of the questions we get asked the most is why so long. I want to be clear. No matter how great the plan is and even if it’s 100 percent ready, there is an evidence protocol that is being vetted by all the concerned parties right now. That takes time and that has not been done. That has to be signed off by a judge. (This is) running parallel in getting the plan together.”

The building owners say they hope to formalize the plan and start demolition as soon as safely possible.