The hearing over what to do with the unfinished Harmon Hotel began earlier this week with a legal nod toward Las Vegas' penchant for spectacular implosions.
Attorneys for a couple of the contractors on the project in the CityCenter complex argued for letting it stand at least until a broader trial over construction defects and determining financial responsibility begins in February. Anything less would make a fair hearing impossible, they said.
"If this building (Harmon) falls, it will travel around the world," said Jeffery Garofalo, representing Ceco Concrete Construction, referring to the expected news coverage. "It may poison the jury pool and be highly prejudicial" because so many people would associate the Harmon with horrible contractor performance.
But MGM Resorts International Inc., the half-owner and developer of the $8.5 billion CityCenter, argued public safety must come first. Nearly a year ago, the Clark County Building Division raised concerns that numerous building code defects could cause the 26-floor building to collapse in an earthquake. Last August, a CityCenter study concluded that demolition made more sense than repair.
"We're here in this courtroom today, about four years after the first safety-threatening violations were discovered," CityCenter attorney Steve Morris said. "Since then, nothing has been done."
Contractors have scheduled their own expert witnesses, who are expected to say computer modeling that prompted earthquake concerns was riddled with flaws. Perini Building Co. Inc., the general contractor, has offered in the past to repair the Harmon as the best solution. The hearing is expected to continue through Thursday.
Contractors want to preserve the Harmon as possibly the world's largest trial exhibit so they can conduct physical tests to rebut allegations of pervasive shoddy workmanship. CityCenter has so far provided raw data about mistakes, but not a final list that would explain the problems. Until then, the contractors say, they don't know exactly which tests to conduct.
The court-imposed deadline for what is called destructive testing, where small sections of the building are demolished to view the underlying work, has already passed. Morris contended that the contractors already had ample opportunity to gather any evidence they needed.
Morris also tried to dispel the idea that MGM Resorts had used its political muscle to prod the county into taking its side.
"There aren't any secrets here," he said. "There aren't any smoke-filled back rooms where conspiracies are being developed."
He said that the demolition bill would run about $30 million. Nearly $280 million was spent on the Harmon's never-finished construction.
The larger issue underlying the sprawling case, which brought more than two dozen attorneys to the courtroom of Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez, involves whether Perini should be paid its approximately $500 million fee or whether CityCenter is owed damages for a job poorly done.
The testimony began with CityCenter consulting engineer Chukwuma Ekwueme methodically showing photo after photo of parts of the Harmon, where he and his team had chipped away the concrete pillars and beams to examine the steel reinforcing bars inside. Through dozens of examples, he pointed out construction errors such as missing or poorly spaced bars, which could contribute to structural failure.
His work involved taking more than 10,000 photographs and writing out 1,000 pages of field notes, he said. BD+C
Related Stories
Architects | Aug 11, 2022
Mancini Duffy Bill Mandara on expanding through diversification
In this segment for HorizonTV, BD+C's John Caulfield interviews Mancini Duffy's CEO and Co-owner William Mandara about his firm's recent growth, which includes an acquisition and new HQs office.
Energy Efficiency | Aug 11, 2022
Commercial Energy Efficiency: Finally “In-the-Money!”
By now, many business leaders are out in front of policymakers on prioritizing the energy transition.
High-rise Construction | Aug 11, 2022
Saudi Arabia unveils plans for a one-building city stretching over 100 miles long
Saudi Arabia recently announced plans for an ambitious urban project called The Line—a one-building city in the desert that will stretch 170 kilometers (106 miles) long and only 200 meters (656 feet) wide.
| Aug 10, 2022
U.S. needs more than four million new apartments by 2035
Roughly 4.3 million new apartments will be necessary by 2035 to meet rising demand, according to research from the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and National Apartment Association.
| Aug 10, 2022
Gresham Smith Founder, Batey M. Gresham Jr., passes at Age 88
It is with deep sadness that Gresham Smith announces the passing of Batey M. Gresham Jr., AIA—one of the firm’s founders.
| Aug 9, 2022
Work-from-home trend could result in $500 billion of lost value in office real estate
Researchers find major changes in lease revenues, office occupancy, lease renewal rates.
| Aug 9, 2022
5 Lean principles of design-build
Simply put, lean is the practice of creating more value with fewer resources.
| Aug 9, 2022
Designing healthy learning environments
Studies confirm healthy environments can improve learning outcomes and student success.
Legislation | Aug 8, 2022
Inflation Reduction Act includes over $5 billion for low carbon procurement
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, recently passed by the U.S. Senate, sets aside over $5 billion for low carbon procurement in the built environment.
| Aug 8, 2022
Mass timber and net zero design for higher education and lab buildings
When sourced from sustainably managed forests, the use of wood as a replacement for concrete and steel on larger scale construction projects has myriad economic and environmental benefits that have been thoroughly outlined in everything from academic journals to the pages of Newsweek.
