CityCenter

This article is about the Las Vegas property development. For other uses, see City Center (disambiguation).

CityCenter Las Vegas

Four of the seven buildings of CityCenter as viewed from the Aria. From left to right The Harmon Hotel and Spa, the Crystals, Veer Towers and the Mandarin Oriental.
Location	Las Vegas Strip
Address	3780 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Paradise, Nevada 89109
Opening Date	December 16, 2009.[1]
Developer	MGM Resorts International and Dubai World
Architect	Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn(Conceptual Master Plan)[2] Gensler (Executive Architect) Foster + Partner (Harmon Hotel) Helmut Jahn (Veer Towers) Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (Mandarin Oriental) Pelli Clark Pelli (Aria Hotel) Rockwell Group (Entertainment District) RV Architecture (Vdara Condo and Hotel) Studio Daniel Libeskind (Entertainment District)
Operator	MGM Resorts International
Owner	MGM Resorts International and Dubai World
Website	www.citycenter.com
Coordinates	36°06′28″N 115°10′33″W / 36.107725°N 115.17574°W / 36.107725; -115.17574Coordinates: 36°06′28″N 115°10′33″W / 36.107725°N 115.17574°W / 36.107725; -115.17574

CityCenter is a 16,797,000-square-foot (1,560,500 m²) mixed-use, urban complex on 76 acres (31 ha) located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The project was started by MGM Resorts International; Dubai World became a joint partner during the project's construction phase. It is the largest privately funded construction project in the history of the United States.^[3] The project is connected by a people mover system to adjacent MGM properties Monte Carlo Las Vegas and Bellagio Las Vegas.^[4]

General design

The project straddles Harmon Avenue and is bordered by (listed clockwise, starting on the east side): Las Vegas Boulevard, the Monte Carlo Resort, I-15, the Bellagio, and The Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino. The site was formerly occupied by the Boardwalk Hotel and Casino, the Bellagio employee parking lot, and several standalone commercial structures.

The conceptual master plan for Project City Center was designed by Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut & Kuhn Architects, laying out the project with approximately 2,400 condominium and condo-hotel units and approximately 4,800 hotel rooms, distributed within several high-rise towers around The Crystals, an ultra high-end retail and entertainment district. It is designed to have all commodities for daily life, featuring a 4,000-room hotel and casino (Aria), two 400-room boutique hotels (The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, with 227 residential condo units, and the Harmon Hotel and Spa), a purely residential offering (Veer Towers), a condo-hotel (Vdara Condo-hotel) and a 500,000 sq ft (46,000 m²) retail and entertainment district which was intended to house the first grocery store directly on the Strip (though as of July 2011, there is no grocery on the property). The multi-use project makes extensive use of green technologies, such as using reclaimed water and an on-site power plant. The Mandarin Oriental, Aria, and Vdara all received LEED certification in November 2009.

With a total cost of approximately $9.2 billion,^[5] CityCenter is the largest privately financed development in the United States.^[6] The original cost estimate was $4 billion, but it was pushed up by rising construction costs and design changes. CityCenter opened with approximately 12,000 employees across the different projects. Vdara, Aria, Mandarin Oriental, and The Crystals opened in December 2009. The Veer Towers opened in July 2010.

CityCenter features 5 amazing works of water and ice. Made by WET Design the company responsible for the Bellagio fountain and the Mirage volcano. The 5 features carry distinct characteristic that you don't see every day. There are 3 features located at Aria Resort & Casino Lumina, Focus, and Latisse. Two located in The Crystals (Las Vegas) Halo, and Glacia.

Construction

The Perini Building Company is lead contractor on the project, with Tishman Construction Corporation serving as the executive construction manager. Gensler is the executive architect overseeing the project. The project is being built in three blocks. Block A consists of the CityCenter Casino & Resort and surrounding facilities (HKS, Inc. is architect of record); Block B (Leo A. Daly - AOR) holds the Vdara; and Block C (Adamson Associates - AOR) the Mandarin, Veer, Crystals and Harmon structures.^[7]

The last remaining permanent building on the project site, the Boardwalk Casino's mid-rise hotel tower, was imploded May 9, 2006. After most of the design process was complete, construction began without an official groundbreaking ceremony in June 2006. Most renderings of the project were released in September 2006 and some delayed until February 2007. Construction started taking shape on June 26, 2006, when the first concrete was poured. Prior to this all of the work was site preparation, including utilities and other infrastructure.^{[citation needed]} A number of construction discrepancies have been found in the project.^[8] Construction of various parts of the site were covered by the TV show Build It Bigger in the episode titled CityCenter, Las Vegas.

Accidents

Six deaths have occurred since construction began. On February 6, 2007, a 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) steel wall used as a concrete mold fell from a crane, hitting another wall which struck four workers, killing two. On August 10, 2007, a worker died when the counterweight for a construction elevator came down on him as he oiled the machine. On October 5, 2007, a worker fell approximately 50 ft (15 m) while working on the main resort tower.^[9] On April 26, 2008, a worker fell approximately 20 ft (6 m) in the south tower of the Aria Hotel & Casino.^[10] On May 31, 2008, a worker was crushed and killed when caught between the counter-weight system and the track of a crane.^[11]

Walk off

At midnight on June 3, 2008, construction workers shut down construction (which had been continuous 24-hours-a-day) by walking off the job to protest safety conditions at the project. The Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council demanded that the general contractor take three steps before they would begin working again: agree to pay for additional safety training for workers, allow national union researchers to examine root causes of safety problems on the site, and allow union leaders full access to the work site.^[12]

On the afternoon of June 4, 2008, Perini Building Co. agreed to all of the Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council's demands and workers resumed work several hours later at midnight, June 4, 2008.

Construction Gallery

Design Models

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  Early design model of CityCenter, September 2005

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  Various sections of Citycenter, September 2005

Construction

Image gallery 

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  October 2009 - North End

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  July 2009 - North End

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  February 2009 - North End

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  February 2009 - Center

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  February 2009 - South End

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  December 2008

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  December 2008

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  December 2008

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  View from Eiffel Tower, late June 2007

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  The Aria Casino & Resort, June 2007

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  The Vdara Condo Hotel, June 2007

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  The Mandarin Oriental, June 2007

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  The Veer Towers, June 2007

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  Early work on the site in October 2006

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  Early work on the site in June 2006

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  Parking garage, April 2006

Financial troubles

In early 2009, Dubai World sued its joint venture partner MGM Resorts International for breach of contract and thus decided to not make its payment of US$200 million in financing, required to keep the project on track.^{[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]} By April 17, 2009, MGM Resorts International and Dubai World had agreed to a set of terms that would ensure the completion of CityCenter.^[20][21]

Features

Major structures

Name	Image	Height	Floors	Hotel Rooms	Condos	LEED certified	Notes
Aria		600 feet (180 m)	61	4,004	0	Gold	The Aria Resort & Casino is CityCenter's central feature. It features a 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2) casino.
The Crystals			3[22]	0	0	Gold	Crystals is CityCenter's 500,000 sq ft (46,000 m2)[23] retail and entertainment district.
Harmon Hotel			27	400	0		The Harmon Hotel will be a non-gaming boutique hotel. Originally set to be 49 stories, it was cut to 25 stories after construction defects were discovered. No official opening date has been set. On November 13, 2010 the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported[24] that MGM Resorts International plans to demolish the Harmon Hotel due to its previously revealed defects, however the exact date of the demolition has been placed on hold due to ongoing litigation between MGM Resorts International and variously parties involved in the development of CityCenter.
Mandarin Oriental		539 feet (164 m)	56	392	225	Gold	Operated by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.
Vdara		578 feet (176 m)	57	1,495	0	Gold	Vdara is a hotel-condo tower. It was the first of the CityCenter buildings to be topped out in May 2008.
Veer Towers		433 feet (132 m)	37		674	Gold	The Veer Towers are twin 37-story condominium towers with the towers leaning in opposite directions, 4.6 degrees from the center.

Auxiliary structures

Parking Garage and Fire Station #32

Photo of the Clark County Fire Station #32

The project also includes a 6,900 car parking garage and several support structures including Clark County Fire Station #32. The Architect of Record was Winston Henderson Associates with Tom Penn as Project Manager. Tishman Construction was the Construction Manager with Peter Schroeder as Senior Project manager. Tooles Contracting Group was the General Contractor with Cory as Project Manager.^[25] The station opened on December 10, 2009.^[26]

Central Energy Plant

Siemens designed and built the $100 million 9 MW (12,000 hp) central energy plant to help power, cool, and provide hot water for CityCenter.

Tram

Photo of one of the two trams that run between the Monte Carlo and Bellagio hotels in CityCenter

A tram connects Crystals with the Monte Carlo to the south and the Bellagio to the north. It uses the Cable Liner technology from DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car (DCC), and has two independent rope-hauled parallel tracks and a four-car passenger unit operating on each track. The tram began operations on December 1, 2009. The 2,100-foot (640 m) long elevated track can handle 3,266 passengers per hour in each direction. A fully loaded tram can hold 132 passengers.^[27]

Fine Art Collection

CityCenter has amassed one of the largest public art collections in all of United States and is valued at over $40 million USD.^[28] Additionally the Mandarin Oriental has galleries open to the public which feature rotating collections from various artists.

References

1. ^ Buck Wargo (2009-12-17). "Analyst: CityCenter’s opening will ‘push economy forward’". Las Vegas Sun. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/dec/17/economist-citycenters-opening-will-push-economy-fo/. Retrieved 2010-10-07. 
2. ^ Architects for the CityCenter project
3. ^ Gordon, Alastair (10 June 2010). "Glass Menagerie: As Las Vegas’ epic CityCenter opens, will its mastermind, MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren, be seen as a visionary or just another casino developer?". Wall Street Journal. http://magazine.wsj.com/nomad/report/glass-menagerie/?blog_id=137&post_id=5923. Retrieved 29 August 2011. 
4. ^ Benston, Liz (2008-05-09). "CityCenter still selling condos despite slowdown". Las Vegas Sun. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/09/citycenter-mgm-mirages-life-preserver-lean-times/. Retrieved 2008-05-15. 
5. ^ Benston, Liz (2008-05-16). "CityCenter will not all open at once after all". Las Vegas Sun. http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/gaming/2008/may/16/citycenter-will-not-all-open-once-after-all/. Retrieved 2008-06-03. 
6. ^ "CityCenter, Las Vegas". Halcrow. http://www.halcrow.com/Our-projects/Project-details/CityCenter-Las-Vegas-USA/. Retrieved October 3, 2010. 
7. ^ RESORT HOTEL/RESORT las vegas blvd s/harmon ave
8. ^ NOT-SO-QUICK FIXES: Report reveals discrepancies at MGM CityCenter project
9. ^ 'Iron worker falls to death on Strip', Brian Haynes, Las Vegas Review-Journal, October 6, 2007.
10. ^ 'CityCenter worker dies in fall', Las Vegas Review-Journal, April 29, 2008.
11. ^ 'Sixth worker dies at Vegas CityCenter project', Reno Gazette-Journal, May 31, 2008.
12. ^ Berzon, Alexandra (2008-06-03). "Workers walk off CityCenter site in protest". Las Vegas Sun. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jun/03/workers-walk-citycenter-site-protest/. Retrieved 2008-06-03. 
13. ^ Bloomberg.com - MGM Mirage Is Sued Over Dubai World Las Vegas Project (Update5)
14. ^ "CityCenter future in doubt after Dubai partner sues MGM Mirage". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.lvrj.com/news/41688037.html. Retrieved 2009-05-07. 
15. ^ "Despite lawsuit, MGM Mirage plans to finish CityCenter". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.lvrj.com/business/41816557.html. Retrieved 2009-05-07. 
16. ^ The National - Infinity takes MGM to court over Vegas project
17. ^ Khaleej Times - Dubai World Unit Sues MGM Mirage
18. ^ CNBC.com - MGM Vegas Project Considers Bankruptcy: Report
19. ^ Bloomberg.com - MGM Resorts International Hires Restructure Counsel; Payment Due (Update1)
20. ^ The National - MGM pays up for Las Vegas venture
21. ^ Yahoo! News - MGM Mirage, Dubai reach deal on CityCenter: report
22. ^ "Crystals™ at CityCenter". Halcrow. http://www.halcrow.com/Our-projects/Project-details/Crystals-at-CityCenter-Las-Vegas/. Retrieved October 3, 2010. 
23. ^ "CityCenter's Aria and Vdara Achieve LEED Gold Certification". Boutique Design Magazine. http://www.boutiquedesign.com/content/citycenters-aria-and-vdara-achieve-leed-gold-certification. Retrieved 6 July 2011. 
24. ^ City Center Development: MGM Resorts targets Harmon Hotel for demolition
25. ^ "Future Fire Stations". Clark County Fire Department. http://fire.co.clark.nv.us/(S(mvc3gn2lh5uofa451vwvsgmp))/Future.aspx. Retrieved 2008-07-11. 
26. ^ KTNV News at 11
27. ^ "MGM CityCenter Shuttle, Las Vegas, USA". http://www.dcc.at/doppelmayr/references/en/tmp_1_530978661/MGM_CityCenter_Shuttle,_Las_Vegas,_USA_detail.aspx. Retrieved 2009-12-02. 
28. ^ Viva CityCenter

External links

• CityCenter website
• CityCenter agenda sheet