Dismantling could take a year
By mid-2015, a gleaming 26-story hotel tower at the entrance of CityCenter in Las Vegas will be reduced to a pile of rubble.
The ill-fated Harmon Hotel, originally slated to be a 48-story gateway to the glitzy, $8.5 billion Strip development, was never completed after engineers determined it structurally flawed and unsafe for habitation, the Las Vegas Sun reported. Construction was suspended in 2008 after inspectors found flaws in the steel reinforcements of the concrete structure.
The deconstruction of the hotel has been delayed for years as the owner and builder duked it out in court. On May 5, Clark County Court Judge Elizabeth Gonsalez issued an order saying the hotel could start to be demolished. For the safety of passersby, “pedestrian protection systems” are being installed over adjacent sidewalks and walkways.
CityCenter attorneys had argued that the building be taken down as soon as possible, as it could collapse in an earthquake. But attorneys for the builder, Tutor Perini Building Co., said the structure could be repaired for $21 million; barring that, they said, the shell should stay up to serve as evidence in the lawsuit. Tutor Perini also alleged that MGM Resorts only claimed the property was irredeemable because the recession had reduced the need for more hotel rooms in Sin City.
Total cost of the demolition, being paid for by CityCenter, is expected to be $11.5 million, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal. A trial is set for September to determine who is liable for the fiasco.
Union Gaming called razing the Harmon :a positive in our view. This is a function of redeployment of the acreage to a cash flow-generating use. While plans for acreage have not been disclosed, seemingly it could be used as part of MGM’s plan for more inviting outdoor Las Vegas Strip space for F&B outlets, more inviting property access points, and other non-gaming amenities.”
