Las Vegas Sun NewsA quake could topple the Harmon, engineer testifies in Strip case
MGM Resorts, Perini square off in first day of court clash
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The Harmon Hotel at CityCenter sits empty and unfinished with the Veer Towers seen in the background Friday, July 29, 2011.
Tuesday
13 March 2012
2 a.m.
Related stories
- Harmon Tower demolition hearing set for March (12-14-2011)
- Subcontractors fight Harmon demolition plan (11-29-2011)
- CityCenter seeks to collect evidence at Harmon before implosion (10-27-2011)
- MGM Resorts seeks to demolish CityCenter’s Harmon Hotel (8-15-2011)
- MGM Resorts seeks to demolish CityCenter’s Harmon Hotel (8-15-2011)
- Legal skirmish over flawed Harmon may never reveal defect blame (8-9-2011)
- Engineer: CityCenter’s Harmon would collapse in earthquake (7-11-2011)
- Harmon flaws haven’t brought big fallout (5-27-2009)
- Perini redirects blame for errors at Harmon (2-9-2009)
- Adaptation or ‘disaster’?: Depends on your view of the Harmon (2-8-2009)
- County wants proof CityCenter structures are free of defects (2-6-2009)
- Watchers were not watched (1-15-2009)
- How did CityCenter tower flaws persist? (1-8-2009)
- MGM Mirage cancels CityCenter condo project (1-7-2009)
- CityCenter hotel project slowed by corrective work (9-17-2008)
A hearing is under way on CityCenter’s request that it be allowed to demolish the never-occupied, $279 million Harmon hotel building on the Las Vegas Strip because of construction defects and safety concerns.
MGM Resorts International, half-owner and manager of the CityCenter casino-resort complex, is asking Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez for permission to implode the 26-story structure, mainly because of more than 1,700 defects with the building it claims to have discovered.
It’s unknown when Gonzalez will rule on the request; even if she approves the implosion plan, it would take several more months for demolition plans to gain government approvals, and her ruling may be appealed.
General contractor Perini Building Co. and subcontractors are fighting the request, saying the Harmon can be repaired.
Perini and the subcontractors claim CityCenter is just trying to get rid of a building it can’t use because of the economic slowdown and that its implosion would destroy evidence while tainting any future trial over alleged defects as jurors would assume the newly built building came down for good reason.
In Monday’s Day One of what are expected to be four days of hearings this week, a Los Angeles-area structural engineer hired by CityCenter testified about concerns the Harmon could be felled by an earthquake or may collapse in a fire because of the defects.
With CityCenter attorneys showing Gonzalez dozens of photos of exposed internal structural elements and engineering drawings of the building — just a fraction of the 10,000 photos and 1,000 pages of notes collected as evidence — engineer Chukwuma Ekwueme said inspections found the Harmon riddled with problems.
They included missing structural steel that is supposed to be embedded in concrete, or steel that was incorrectly installed or wasn’t properly connected with other steel components.
In many cases, the steel was improperly installed too close to the edges of structural components, meaning there is not enough insulation in the form of concrete to prevent the steel from melting in a fire, he said.
“With this insufficient coverage, the building becomes more vulnerable to failure in a fire,” he said.
In some instances on multiple floors, he said, contractors failed to connect key walls and beams, leaving these structural elements intact now only because of friction between them.
“Some floors in the elevator lobby areas are extremely dangerous,’’ he said.
Ekwueme is scheduled to resume testifying today. At some point he’ll be cross-examined by Perini attorneys and they’re expected to produce their own engineers who will blame CityCenter for design problems at CityCenter and insist the Harmon can be repaired.
CityCenter has argued that in seeking to implode the building, it’s complying with a July directive from Clark County to abate the public safety hazard presented by a building that could come down in an earthquake.
CityCenter has said this solution is preferable to waiting for the results of more engineering studies on whether — and how — the unfinished building can be repaired and completed and at what cost.
Construction was halted on the Harmon in 2010 and litigation soon erupted between Perini and CityCenter over Perini’s charges it and its contractors were owed $491 million at the time for work on the building — and counterclaims by CityCenter that Perini had failed to deliver a building it could use, marring the otherwise successful completion of the $8.5 billion CityCenter project.
When CityCenter was designed, the Harmon was planned as a 47-story structure.
It was capped at 26 stories in 2008 when the defects were discovered and work continued on the structure until MGM Resorts decided in 2010 to stop work because of additional problems that had been discovered.
Perini, a unit of Tutor Perini Corp. of Sylmar, Calif., said in a regulatory filing March 2 that after CityCenter paid several contractors, it and its subcontractors were still owed $192 million for work on CityCenter as of Dec. 31 — an amount CityCenter disputes given the problems at the Harmon.
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They just need to tear down the building. Perini should have done a better job constructing this property. End of story. You hire an international construction company on the basis of their engineering talents and reputation. Blaming MGM just does not cut it.
Chunky asks:
If these alleged defects are so prominent in the Harmon tower, what about the rest of CityCenter? Wasn't Perini involved in the construction of the entire project? If in fact these allegations are true why would they only be found in one of the five towers and not the others?
Inquiring minds want to know!
That's what Chunky thinks!
The entire resort corridor went through a major inspection in 2010. Properties were required to remedy any notice of violations. Millions of dollars were spent to bring each property to full code. There should be no worry about the safety of any strip hotel.
Perini's charges it and its contractors were owed $491 million at the time for work on the building. - Wrong! The 491 million was for the remaining balance of ALL work completed on the entire project.
Clark County and MGM inspectors signed off on the building - some responsability needs to be taken by all parties.
Three players on this project -Perini, MGM and Dubai World - MGM has been sued by both the other two.
MGM has been paying off the starving contractors for pennies on the dollar because they have no money. Subcontractors who have had nothing to do with this building but were owed money for other venues.
MGM wants to tear it down because they have no money to finish it out and the strip has to many empty rooms to make this project viable.
In the course of any project mistakes are always made, you correct them and complete the project. This is no different, make the corrections and complete the project. If the economic conditions have changed and you can't afford it anymore than state that and tear it down. Fountain Blue is sitting empty due to the current economic conditions, do you really think MGM can afford to bring more rooms on line?
Very good question Chunky.
There was quite the detailed study done when these defects were discovered and detailed the shoddy oversight by Clark County in regards to construction oversight. But as usual, no one at the County was fired or prosecuted, but they attempted to prosecute two of the private inspectors.
This is Clark County's fault as much as it is the General Contractor. Big projects rarely get built to detail, but are a series of modifications and changes. ALL changes are submitted to Clark County for approval prior to implementation of the structural fixes. Some of these defects were EXTREMELY visible, and should NEVER have occurred, regardless of who is found to be at blame, as we KNOW it will never be Clark County that will admit culpability in the matter.
Back in 2007 this particular Joker decided to be a General Contractor and got a project in Clark County.
This Joker took the plans for the project down to Clark County Building Department.
After jumping through their hoops, having to go back multiple times, this Joker got the plans for this remodel project for a residential home blessed by ALL the powers that be at Clark County Building Department. ALL OF THEM.
Construction commences and after foundations have been poured and exterior walls were erected a Clark County inspector halts construction because "we are too close to the property line".
We tell him that YOUR OWN DEPARTMENT APPROVED EVERYTHING. Including Zoning.
Oh no, it's wrong.
So we halt construction on our little $180,000 project WHILE THE LARGEST PROJECT IN THE HISTORY OF NEVADA HAS NO CLARK COUNTY BUILDING INSPECTORS ONSITE AT THE HARMON TOWER, THE MOST IMPORTANT TOWER THAT WILL BE VISIBLE ON THE STRIP.
We jump through more hoops and get the project going three months later.
My question is this: If Clark County Building Department had time to send somebody to my piss-ant project, then why could they not put ONE @#$&$ inspector on the Harmon Tower for 15 floors????
I think the Harmon Tower was worth a little more than $180,000.00.
The CCBD is full of fools who do nothing but attempt to grab money from the people actually trying to do real work in Southern Nevada.
Just wait a few years from now when you see what CCBD charges the Shops Of Summerlin, the Venetian, Echelon, or any other stalled project for "inspection fees" and "start up fees" to pad their wallets again. Assuming those projects (and many others) ever finish up.
Clark County Building Department is a joke. A money grabbing joke that will never stop laughing at the people they swindle in the construction industry. Unfortunately no one can do a thing about it.
The architect, the structural engineer, Perini, and the 3rd Party inspector for Harmon Tower absolutely messed up on this project.
Clark County Building Department is guilty as well for not approving every floor on the Harmon Tower as it was erected.
In the end, MGM & Perini both have money. But in Las Vegas, MGM has bigger pull. Perini is going to wind up taking it in the shorts on this in my opinion.
I hope Perini somehow takes CCBD down with them. I doubt it will happen, but it should.
Perini and MGM should play 1 hand of blackjack to settle this dispute. Nice and easy.
Isn't part of a Building Department's responsibility to ensure that structures are safe in their jurisdiction? Knowing first-hand how inept and corrupt that the Clark County Building Department is it is no surprise to me that they are protected by law from being sued for failing to ensure the safety of any of the buildings on the Las Vegas Strip! How many construction defects lie lurking inside the walls of strip hotels & casinos? Does anyone have the balls in this town to put a stop to this madness? For decades the Clark County Building Dept allowed strip resorts to perform illegal remodels on their properties - they just turned a blind eye, why? Thousands of people were exposed to ASBESTOS during Harrah's illegal remodels, besides the fact that hotel guests slept in "fire traps" as a result of Harrah's illegal (documented) remodels. But, then again this is LV and it apparently is not a crime to willfully/knowingly to put hotel guests, hotel employees & construction workers in harms way. Ex-DA David Roger flat out lied in court on the behalf of Harrah's to keep them from being criminally prosecuted for what they had done - I was there in court. Are there any investigative reporters left in Las Vegas that are willing to expose the TRUTH, no matter where it leads? Is it true that the rebar used at City Center got lighter as the project progressed? Are we sure that there are no problems at the Cosmopolitan or at Caesars' new towers? Ron Lynn, Richard Maddox and the others named in the KESSLER Report are part of the problem...definitely not part of the solution.