10.7.11  The Louisiana state facilities office has set Nov. 20 for the implosion of the long-shuttered Grand Palace Hotel to make way for the new $1.1 billion University Medical Center. The 18-story, 1,032-room hotel on the corner of Canal Street and South Claiborne Avenue never reopened following the 2005 Hurricane Katrina flood. Taking down the building is one of the last significant pre-construction tasks as state contractor prepares to build the successor to the Charity Hospital, another downtown building that has remained closed since Katrina.  Read the entire article at Times Picayune.