Prominent New Orleans developer and hotelier Joe Jaeger dies | Business News

Prominent New Orleans developer and hotelier Joe Jaeger Jr. has died in a North Shore hospital from injuries sustained from a crash several days ago, according to a family friend and business associate.

Details of the accident were not immediately available but Jaeger, 77, sustained multiple fractures and had been in hospital for several days when he succumbed to his injuries on Sunday morning, according to Mike Sherman, who was a long-time consultant for Jaeger on land projects.

Jaeger, who sometimes referred to himself as “just a plumber from the Ninth Ward,” had started from humble New Orleans beginnings to become owner of the largest group of hotels in the Greater New Orleans area, with more than two dozen properties that included the Jung Hotel and boutique gems like the Bourbon Orleans Hotel.

He is survived by his wife Becky and sons Joey, 59, Ryan and Mike, both 51. He is predeceased by his son Todd.

“He took great pride in the thousands of team members at his construction, real estate, and hospitality companies, and to Joe, these team members were part of his extended family and he loved them,” the family said in a statement released by Sherman on Sunday.

Over the years, Jaeger, a self-described workaholic, had partnered with many other leading developers and had backed dozens of charitable causes as well as politicians of all stripes.

Darryl Berger, a fellow developer and frequent collaborator, said Sunday that Jaeger will be missed. “Joe Jaeger was one of the finest human beings I have ever met, a great citizen and a great friend and partner,” he said via text. “This is a huge loss for our entire community.”

Donald “Boysie” Bollinger, who worked for years wtth Jaeger in the New Orleans chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization, an international philanthropic organization, said the news was a blow.

“A good friend. I’m in shock,” he said. “Life is sometimes too short. I’m still trying to digest it all.”

Jaeger’s rise was a Horatio Alger story of success by dint of hard graft and crafty business moves. A graduate of Holy Cross School, he had dropped out of Southeastern Louisiana University after a few semesters in the 1950s and went to work full-time as a plumber’s apprentice. A self-confessed workaholic, he rose rapidly at the Mechanical Construction Co. to run the company and eventually buy it in the 1980s.

Over the years, Jaeger’s interests expanded from construction and building materials to major development and renovations. He started with houses and moved onto bigger projects that included hotels, plantations and resorts.

This is a developing story. Please check back for more details.