In Lake Charles, work is underway to take down the Hertz Tower — formerly the Capital One Tower —  by implosion on Sept. 7. In Shreveport, Hertz is having trouble with their electric bill.

Shreveport’s largest office tower, the 25-story Regions Tower, as well as an adjacent 16-story building, had signs posted by electricity provider SWEPCO warning tenants the building is more than 90 days in arrears and is facing a cutoff, according to a report in the Times-Picayune NOLA Business Insider.

Hertz owes more than $450,000 in payments to SWEPCO; the latest SWEPCO bill was due Aug. 21.

The city of Lake Charles made sure its bases were covered should such a thing happen here with the 22-story downtown tower.

Following Hurricane Laura in 2020, the city engaged in regular conversations with the Hertz Tower owners, who sent a representative to one City Council meeting to announce the company intended to make repairs. In January 2023, Hertz Investment Group settled with its insurance company. Repairs began for a week or so, and in March the Lake Charles tower was listed for sale.

“We did absolutely everything we could to support efforts to refurbish the Tower,” said Mayor Nic Hunter. “We met with dozens of developers and created incentive packages to support a potential renovation. At the same time, my administration was realistic about the chances of a project of this magnitude in a post-COVID environment. As a nation, we are seeing a trend, even in areas not affected by natural disasters, that has challenged the viability of large, high-rise office buildings.”

The 44-story AT&T Building in St. Louis sold for $3.6 million in 2024 when it had previously sold for $205 million in 2006. The 21-story 801 Travis Street Building in Houston recently appraised for half of what it was appraised for in 2013.

“And these examples were not ravaged by a hurricane,” Hunter said.

The Plaza Tower in New Orleans — a building that has basically sat untouched post-Hurricane Katrina — was another case-study, offering an alternative city officials knew it could not allow to happen here.

“We knew we had to take the steps necessary to protect our citizens should redevelopment prove unfeasible. We knew we could not allow this building to linger in blight for perpetuity. For these reasons, we successfully sought to secure private funding in an escrow account, should we end up where we are today,” Hunter said. “Again, I know this demolition is bittersweet for many. It is for me, but it’s time to move on, and I’m exceedingly proud of my team that there are private dollars set aside to accomplish this task versus the burden falling on taxpayers.”

The American Press will have a special Facebook livestream Saturday, Sept. 7, as demolition crews implode the tower. The implosion is scheduled for 8 a.m.