Plaza Tower, one of the first modern high-rises in New Orleans, was sold today at public auction for $583,000, which cleared an overdue tax bill with the city.

Appraised at only about $100,000, a group known as Howard Acquisitions LLC, which had foreclosed on a $24 million mortgage on the skyscraper, basically got clear title to the structure.

The sale as part of a routine auction of properties in the civil courthouse lobby.

The last office tenants departed in 2002 after complaints about the condition of the building that included leaks, mold and asbestos.

The group that bought the building had loaned about $24 million to a development group that planned to turn the tower into high-rise condominiums. That plan was dented by Hurricane Katrina. Since then, a suit has been filed between the groups over more than $12 million in insurance payoffs from storm damage.

Plaza Tower was one of the first of a string of high-rise office buildings constructed in New Orleans during the 1960s.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)