Alexander Ackel, who bought the old Federal Reserve building in the Central Business District with his partner Al Morris earlier this month, is adamant about one thing: They will not be converting the unique, century-old structure into a hotel.
“It is sinful to me that they wanted to turn this into a hotel,” said Ackel, referring to a sale of the building to hotel developers that fell through last year. The neoclassical monolith at 147 Carondelet Street, which was built by the Federal Reserve in 1923, is known for its robust construction, featuring three-foot-thick steel-reinforced concrete walls, and a 38-ton solid steel door protecting the main vault area on the first floor.
“We’re going to turn this back into what it was intended to be used for when it was built in the 1920s, except in the modern sense,” said Ackel, a precious metals dealer and owner of New Orleans Silver and Gold, whose head office is two blocks away on Gravier Street.
Sitting in empty offices next to a life-sized cardboard cutout of the late David Oreck, the building’s most recent owner, who was best known as the founder and pitchman for his namesake vacuum cleaners, Ackel outlined his plans…