NEW ORLEANS - City officials in New Orleans say the Hard Rock Hotel, which collapsed in October of 2019, will not be demolished until December 2020 at the earliest. 

According to WWL, crews will not be able to stabilize the entire building until May. The New Orleans Fire department Chief Tim McConnell says the updated timeline is based off plans submitted by the project developers who were hired to take down the hotel. McConnell also says the update more than doubled the original timeline. 

The timeline to take down the building had changed several times since its collapse, with engineers for Canal Development LLC. switching from plans for an implosion to a piece-by-piece demolition.

Engineers and city leaders recently decided against contractor's original plans to implode the site, concerned about potential damage to nearby buildings.