Las Vegas Sun

May 5, 2024

CityCenter

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By Steve Marcus · May 1, 2009 · 3:50 p.m.

Soon-to-be employees check in at CityCenter Career Center on Sept. 21.
Eager to get to work
THE ECONOMY: Struggle to find jobs led these six people — and 11,994 others — to CityCenter
Sunday, November 8, 2009
By Liz Benston
When MGM Mirage’s $8.5 billion CityCenter resort opens next month, its financial and artistic merits will be debated the world over.
Viva Elvis at Aria in CityCenter.
'Viva ELVIS' is name of Cirque du Soleil's new show
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Associated Press
Elvis is coming to The Strip - Cirque du Soleil style. Cirque du Soleil announced Thursday that its new show in Las Vegas will be called "Viva ELVIS."
Elvis Presley with his parents Vernon and Gladys Presley at Graceland. This photo was used by permission from Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc.
Cirque reveals City Center show will be named "Viva ELVIS"
Thursday, November 5, 2009
By Sarah Feldberg
Today Cirque du Soleil revealed that the new show opening in December at Aria Resort & Casino at City Center will be titled Viva ELVIS.
CityCenter, tour operator battle over use of store name
Friday, October 30, 2009
By Steve Green
A legal dispute has emerged pitting MGM Mirage's CityCenter against an air tour operator over the name of a CityCenter retail store. MGM Mirage's CityCenter Land LLC filed suit Thursday in Las Vegas against Grand Canyon tour operator Papillon Airways.
CityCenter Uniform Attendant Anthony Richardson takes down Gabriel Bustamantez size information Wednesday at the CityCenter Uniform Distribution Center in Las Vegas. CityCenter properties begin opening December 1.
CityCenter employees receive uniforms, gear up for opening
Getting outfitted with new work attire symbolizes fresh start for those coming off unemployment
Thursday, October 29, 2009
By Amanda Finnegan
With CityCenter’s first opening date just a month away, thousands are gearing up for new jobs at the property. CityCenter brought hundreds a step closer to work on Wednesday as it handed out uniforms to new employees. For those who have been out of a work, the uniform is symbolic of the beginning of new opportunities.
CityCenter retail area gets LEED Gold certification
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Staff and wire reports
Officials at CityCenter say the U.S. Green Building Council has awarded LEED Gold certification for the base structure of the $8.5 billion casino development's retail mall.
A view of MGM Mirage's CityCenter along the Las Vegas Strip.
MGM Mirage to take $1.1 billion charge for CityCenter
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
By Steve Green
MGM Mirage today said it's slashing by 31 percent the value of its investment in CityCenter. The company plans to take $1.1 billion in non-cash charges against earnings to reflect reduced profit expectations for the $8.5 billion development. In a separate announcement this morning, Tracinda Corp. said it's exploring "the possibility of strategic partnerships or other alternatives" with respect to its stake in MGM Mirage.
How CityCenter’s room rates will compare with Strip rivals’
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
By Liz Benston
Online reservation sites are offering discounted room prices that reflect the effects of the recession on the three hotels opening for business in December at MGM Mirage’s CityCenter complex.
CityCenter's Aria to house MGM Mirage's largest spa
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
By Amanda Finnegan
MGM Mirage today released details of its Spa at Aria, which is part of the CityCenter complex.
Artist Maya Lin is on hand as her silver sculpture of the Colorado River is installed Thursday over the registration desk at CityCenter's Aria.
Sculpture at CityCenter's Aria designed to provoke thought about water
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
By Kristen Peterson
Artist Maya Lin watches as her 87-foot rendition of the Colorado River is installed behind the registration desk at CityCenter’s Aria.
MGM Mirage wants the right tone for CityCenter’s first night
Looking in on: Gaming:
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
By Liz Benston
In another economy, CityCenter might have opened with the kind of pageantry befitting royalty.
CityCenter reduces condo prices 30 percent
MGM Mirage planning one-on-one meetings with buyers
Monday, October 5, 2009
By Liz Benston
CityCenter has reduced prices of its condos by 30 percent in an effort to satisfy concerns from condominium buyers who signed purchase contracts for the units more than two years ago, when the real estate market was booming. "We believe that in this economic climate this price reduction is an appropriate step to take on behalf of our buyers as to provide them greater flexibility in closing on their residences," Bobby Baldwin, president and CEO of CityCenter, said in a statement.
A view of MGM Mirage's CityCenter along the Las Vegas Strip.
P.R. efforts low-key even as opening of CityCenter nears
Monday, October 5, 2009
By Liz Benston
In normal times, a casino company within months of opening a major resort would use every opportunity to tout its virtues. But until recently, MGM Mirage has been distracted by a steady grind of negative news surrounding CityCenter.
Aria at CityCenter.
Hazy details
Light Group sheds some light on its new stars
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
By Xania Woodman
Elsewhere in the world, a club opening just 83 days from now would be shouting its own name from the rooftops. But not in Vegas. No, we build it, you pencil it in, but we don’t tell you too much until we are satisfied that the competition won’t have time to head us off at the pass. So aside from a carefully worded press release, it’s no surprise that Light Group is keeping mum on the goings-on at CityCenter’s Aria Resort.
Sketch of Vdara at CityCenter.
Beautiful integration
12 + 7 demonstrates CityCenter’s synthesis of art and architecture
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
By Danielle Kelly
12 + 7 doesn’t reveal much—the exhibition plays its cards close to its chest, although we appear to be getting one helluva public art collection.
Job applicants check in at the CityCenter Career Center on Industrial Road Monday, Sept. 21, 2009.
160,000 applications later, CityCenter makes job offers
THE ECONOMY: Most employees will start work in November for opening the following month
Monday, September 21, 2009
By Amanda Finnegan
For 23-year-old Mollie Ehrman, Monday meant a new start in a new city. Ehrman received a job offer for a salon receptionist at Aria at CityCenter’s employment center. It made her decision to move to Las Vegas finally official. The $8.5 billion complex on the Strip was extending offers to between 500 and 700 people.
CityCenter to begin making nearly 12,000 job offers Monday
Friday, September 18, 2009
By Amanda Finnegan
CityCenter will be extending employment offers to roughly 12,000 employees Monday in preparation for a December opening. The first new employees are expected to gather at CityCenter’s employment center to receive and celebrate their official offers.
Eco-friendly resorts: Construction continues on the CityCenter on the Strip between Monte Carlo and Bellagio. Aria and Vdara were given the second-highest certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Strip hotels garner LEED gold
Friday, September 18, 2009
By Nicole Lucht
Aria and Vdara — hotels and convention space within CityCenter — were given the second highest certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. The gold certification was based on standards set by the council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.
Art handler Brent Sommerhauser plugs in "Four Corner: Truisms, Living" by Jenny Holzer, part of the "12+7: Artists and Architects of CityCenter."
A peek at coming attractions
Bellagio gallery exhibit showcasing art and design of CityCenter
Friday, September 18, 2009
By Kristen Peterson
At the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art an art handler is on a ladder making some final adjustments to a Jenny Holzer installation while colleagues look on with anticipation.
How much will CityCenter slash its condo prices?
Friday, September 11, 2009
By Buck Wargo
CityCenter, by the end of September, is expected to announce how much it will cut condominium prices, but one gaming research group says co-owner MGM Mirage will have success trimming those prices about 30 percent.
Selling CityCenter: Bob Hamrick, a broker at CityCenter and the CEO of Coldwell Banker Premier Realty in Las Vegas, is shown in the CityCenter sales office.
Q&A: Bob Hamrick, broker of CityCenter and CEO of Coldwell Banker Premier Realty
Friday, September 11, 2009
By Buck Wargo
Not many people know their career path in high school and jump right into it. But Bob Hamrick did.
The Aria hotel is shown on the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009.
CityCenter's Aria resort to hire 350 workers
Two-day job fair planned for later this month
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
By Amanda Finnegan
Hospitality management firm The Light Group said today it will be hiring 350 people for its three food and beverage locations at CityCenter’s Aria Casino and Resort. The company will begin its hiring process with a two-day job. The Light Group is looking fill positions for hosts, promoters, security, bartenders, cooks, food runners, buspersons and pantry workers at its Union Restaurant, Haze Nightclub and Deuce Lounge.
Details released on CityCenter restaurants, entertainment
business:
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
By Amanda Finnegan
Hospitality management firm The Light Group says it plans to run four venues inside the main hotel-casino of the $8.5 billion CityCenter complex on the Las Vegas Strip.
CityCenter might budge the jobless rate. Budge.
LOOKING IN ON: BUSINESS:
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
By Nicole Lucht, Buck Wargo
Las Vegas’ economy is going to need more than CityCenter’s opening — and massive hiring — to rebound to pre-recession employment levels, a local economist says.
Light Group to run nightclub, pool in CityCenter
Monday, August 31, 2009
Associated Press
Hospitality management firm The Light Group says it plans to run four venues inside the main hotel-casino of CityCenter, the $8.5 billion complex on the Las Vegas Strip
A view of MGM Mirage's Aria as seen from the Panorama Towers in February.
CityCenter's Aria to protect blackjack dealers from smoke
Friday, August 21, 2009
By Nicole Lucht
Go ahead, blow smoke in your blackjack dealer’s face. If you’re playing at the soon-to-open Aria at CityCenter, they will hardly notice. That’s because Aria’s blackjack tables will be equipped with an air curtain that shoots straight up from the table, dividing dealer and players. That’s the next-to-best thing Aria could do to protect dealers’ health, aside from not allowing smoking in the casino, said Cindy Ortega, senior vice president of energy and environmental services for MGM Mirage, an owner of CityCenter.
A view of MGM Mirage's CityCenter along the Las Vegas Strip.
CityCenter gives condominium buyers hope for price cuts
real estate:
Saturday, August 15, 2009
By Liz Benston
Buyers of CityCenter condos, grumbling about the drop in real estate values and other concerns, say MGM Mirage officials who were previously reluctant to discuss the issues are now reaching out to them. Buyers say they hope the talks lead to price reductions on existing sales contracts, which is their primary goal. MGM Mirage officials, worried that some buyers will not want to close on their units, are also inviting customers to discuss their concerns about construction problems uncovered at CityCenter in recent months.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) looks over a model of MGM Mirage's CityCenter project during a Clean Energy Jobs tour Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009.
Harry Reid leads tour of Nevada's clean energy potential
Majority leader shows off state’s green projects under way
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
By Stephanie Tavares
One of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s mantras is that the emerging clean energy industry will create valuable and desperately needed jobs. On Tuesday, in the wake of his National Clean Energy Summit, he staged a short road show to illustrate his point. He could have taken his five guests on a tour of the Ausra solar manufacturing plant near McCarran International Airport, or the green building and design exhibits at the Springs Preserve or the hundreds of acres of solar thermal and photovoltaic fields in the Eldorado Valley.
Spurring sustainability: Cindy Ortega, MGM Mirage's senior vice president of energy and environmental services, is shown July 21 near CityCenter.
Cindy Ortega
Q&A: Senior vice president of MGM Mirage's energy and environmental services division
Friday, August 7, 2009
By Nicole Lucht
Cindy Ortega is in charge of transforming MGM Mirage into the green giant of gaming — and we’re not talking about the color of the company’s flagship casino on the Strip.
Official: Inspection reports falsified
construction defects: Harmon Hotel inspectors’ employer may be suspended
Saturday, July 25, 2009
By Alexandra Berzon
This week, an administrative hearing officer said the county-approved private inspectors hired by MGM Mirage to inspect the Harmon didn’t simply err accidentally, but rather must not have been conducting thorough inspections despite signing documents saying they were.
The Harmon tower at CityCenter is shown while under construction in July 2009 on the Las Vegas Strip.
Company that missed CityCenter flaws might face suspension
Friday, July 24, 2009
The discovery of 15 floors of major construction flaws at CityCenter’s Harmon Hotel last year shut down the project for a time, forced MGM Mirage to redesign the building and left numerous questions in its wake. Among them: Why had the county-approved private inspectors hired by MGM Mirage to inspect the Harmon issued numerous false reports stating that the reinforcing steel was according to plans? Were they knowingly not doing their jobs, or merely incompetent? Responding to a county request for judgment, an administrative hearing officer this week became the first to officially weigh in on that subject. He said ...
The Mandarin Oriental has begun hiring in preparation for a planned opening in December. The top manager will personally interview everyone on staff.
For CityCenter’s nongaming Mandarin Oriental, service is ‘be-all, end-all’
Guest experience to start with ride to 23rd-floor ‘sky lobby,’ greeting by name
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
By Liz Benston
Employees at the Mandarin Oriental hotel, which opens Dec. 4 at CityCenter, are not allowed to point. They must escort guests to their destination rather than simply signaling or telling them how to get there. This small detail is one of many that Mandarin Oriental executives hope will set a new standard for service in Las Vegas. Customers who walk into the receiving lobby off the Strip will be escorted to the main lobby on the 23rd floor, where they will be greeted by name.
CityCenter hotel begins search for 500 workers
economy:
Monday, July 20, 2009
By Amanda Finnegan
CityCenter’s Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas is accepting applications to fill more than 500 jobs, the hotel announced today. The non-gaming, luxury hotel will be hiring for a variety of positions including in food and beverage, hotel operations, spa and fitness, finance, facilities and security.
Bernard Ibarra, left, executive chef of the Aria resort in CityCenter, interviews chef John Tormey during a food and beverage job fair at the CityCenter Career Center on Thursday. Tormey had just been laid off this morning from his job at The Terrace, a wedding and events business in Henderson, he said.
A look inside CityCenter’s application mill
THIS PLACE:
Friday, July 17, 2009
By Brendan Buhler
In a sense, CityCenter is a series of giant math problems. Here’s one: how do you divide 12,000 by 145,000? A calculator won’t help, because that’s 12,000 jobs and 145,000 people applying for them.
Bernard Ibarra, left, executive chef of the Aria resort in CityCenter, interviews chef John Tormey during a food and beverage job fair at the CityCenter Career Center on Thursday. Tormey had just been laid off this morning from his job at The Terrace, a wedding and events business in Henderson, he said.
145,000 have applied so far for 12,000 CityCenter jobs
MGM Mirage hosts job fair Thursday to fill positions for food and beverage workers
Thursday, July 16, 2009
By Brendan Buhler
The work of staffing CityCenter continued Thursday when MGM Mirage hosted a job fair for food and beverage workers. So far, more than 145,000 people have applied for CityCenter's 12,000 jobs. MGM Mirage processes all of these applications at a 29,000-square-foot career center. The first applicants pass through the electronic application. Meet the computers' standards and applicants are off to human resources. Human resources is interviewing about 500 people every day. So far, between 42,000 and 43,000 people have been through departmental interviews.
CityCenter plans to hire hundreds today at job fair
Thursday, July 16, 2009
By Amanda Finnegan
CityCenter is looking to walk away with hundreds of employees after today’s food and beverage job fair.
The CityCenter project on the Las Vegas Strip.
Prada, Christian Dior, Bulgari to be among CityCenter's retailers
the strip: Crystals retail and dining area to open Dec. 3 at CityCenter
Monday, July 6, 2009
By Steve Green
More big names in the upscale retail and restaurant worlds are joining the retail center at MGM Mirage's CityCenter on the Las Vegas Strip, MGM Mirage announced today. The retail and dining center, Crystals, will open Dec. 3 at the $8.5 billion CityCenter resort that includes gaming, hotel, entertainment and condominium components. A spokeswoman said Crystal isn't disclosing what percentage of the retail and dining space has been leased, but is pleased.
Although work continues this week on the Harmon tower, design changes and repairs will cause it to miss its planned opening date.
Harmon inspector lacked experience
CONSTRUCTION: At hearing, he said he read building plans in prior jobs only with help
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
By Alexandra Berzon
An inspector responsible for monitoring construction at the troubled Harmon hotel in CityCenter last year said he had never read engineering plans without assistance before taking that job, despite earning a civil engineering degree. The revelation by inspector Joseph Glenn Laurente was contained in documents the county released Tuesday after a hearing.
CityCenter inspectors told: Easy on the paper
CONSTRUCTION: It’s not a policy change, official says, to first report flaws verbally to contractor
Thursday, June 11, 2009
By Alexandra Berzon
County officials have instructed building inspectors at CityCenter to be more selective in using paperwork to document potential flaws in the massive MGM Mirage project.
Harmon flaws haven’t brought big fallout
DAILY MEMO: citycenter: County hearings on inspections delayed
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
By Alexandra Berzon
It has been almost a year since an engineer discovered that the Harmon Hotel at CityCenter was riddled with construction problems.
A sales executive talks about Veer towers during a January 2006 media open house. So far, 432 condo and condo-hotel units have sold at Veer. The average price per unit at Veer, Mandarin Oriental and Vdara towers is $1,250 per square foot, four to six times as much as other luxury units have sold for in Las Vegas recently.
CityCenter condo prices not bending to market
REAL ESTATE: MGM Mirage isn’t budging, though some buyers may walk away
Thursday, May 21, 2009
By Liz Benston
Buyers of CityCenter condos are urging the project’s managing partner, MGM Mirage, to lower prices on the units by 30 percent to 50 percent to better reflect the valley’s sagging condo market. MGM Mirage is balking at the idea — at least for now. Some buyers — many of them signed purchase contracts more than two years ago — are bracing for an uncomfortable confrontation with the company late this year.
Killed crane oiler’s family sues MGM Mirage, others
worker safety:
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
By Jeff German
Dustin Tarter’s death on May 31, which at the time was the sixth in 18 months at the mammoth Strip project, sparked a one-day walkout by his fellow workers over unsafe working conditions.
Canoes are kept at the ready as workers install a sculpture by Nancy Rubins at MGM Mirage's City Center project Thursday.
CityCenter's art collection was never in doubt, even when it was itself
ARTS:
Sunday, May 3, 2009
By Kristen Peterson
When MGM Mirage and its partner Dubai World almost missed a payment on CityCenter in March, there was concern that the more than $8 billion project would come to a halt.
Workers install a sculpture by Nancy Rubins at MGM Mirage's City Center project Thursday.
CityCenter’s crown jewel
ARTS: Vivid, boat-centric sculpture in roundabout is complete
Sunday, May 3, 2009
By Kristen Peterson
Artist Nancy Rubins stands in the middle of the CityCenter construction site — a vast valley of gravel, concrete and machinery surrounded by towering glass architecture.
Nancy Rubins' "Big Pleasure Point," mid-installation
Staying the cultural course
CityCenter moves forward with its $40 million public art program
Thursday, April 30, 2009
By T.R. Witcher
MGM Mirage is moving forward with an ambitious, $40 million public art program—which makes sense, since the company bought or commissioned the works two years ago, before the economy went bust.
MGM, Dubai World reach CityCenter agreement; lawsuit dropped
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
By Steve Green
MGM Mirage and Dubai World have settled their differences over funding for CityCenter, with MGM Mirage agreeing to cover any cost overruns and Dubai World agreeing to pay back some CityCenter payments that had been covered by MGM Mirage.
MGM Mirage, Dubai World working on CityCenter funding plan
Friday, April 17, 2009
By Liz Benston
CityCenter partners MGM Mirage and Dubai World are hammering out a plan that aims to guarantee funding for the financially troubled project due to open this year, according to sources who declined to be named.
Australian businessman weighing CityCenter investment
gaming:
Friday, April 3, 2009
By Liz Benston
Australian billionaire and casino magnate James Packer is considering an investment in CityCenter, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Packer's casino company, Crown Ltd. Of Australia, owns a 19.6 percent stake in the Fontainebleau resort under construction in Las Vegas.
When the fun stops
When the fun stops
Is MGM Mirage Nevada’s AIG or GM?
Thursday, April 2, 2009
By Steve Friess
Having evidently learned a little something from the hundreds of acrobats who perform astonishing death-defying feats nightly in its Vegas resorts, MGM Mirage last week leaped headlong into the open air.
CityCenter shutdown would leave few options for many in construction
THE WORKERS:
Saturday, March 28, 2009
By Alexandra Berzon
The shutdown or delay of the $8.7 billion CityCenter project, once envisioned as a new urban core, could have drastic effects, economists said Friday.
In a recession, a delay could be seen by rivals as a positive development
GAMING:
Saturday, March 28, 2009
By Megan McCloskey
If CityCenter gets mothballed, is that good or bad for the other properties on the Strip?
Tony Dennis, right, CityCenter's executive vice president, shows the elaborate plan to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President Rossi Ralenkotter, left, and Vince Alberta, the authority's vice president of public affairs in 2006. MGM Mirage would begin construction on CityCenter without all financing in place.
CityCenter safe — for now
GAMING: MGM Mirage’s cash payment keeps construction going, but can’t guarantee future stability
Saturday, March 28, 2009
By Liz Benston
MGM Mirage’s $200 million injection in CityCenter Friday answered questions about the project’s immediate fate. But the long-term future of the joint venture — and of MGM Mirage itself — remains in doubt as the company struggles with massive debt and a suddenly uncooperative partner, Dubai World. MGM Mirage’s payment allows construction to continue on the project billed as an unprecedented urban metropolis on the Las Vegas Strip — at least until the remaining $800 million in construction funding is due.
A financial history of the CityCenter project
GAMING:
Saturday, March 28, 2009
By Liz Benston
A timeline of the project and its financial estimates.
With a little help from our friends
commentary:
Friday, March 27, 2009
By Jon Ralston
At the intersection of politics and business, where the signs are often gray, finding the right way to go requires a firm ethical compass.
The CityCenter project on the Las Vegas Strip.
MGM Mirage payment keeps CityCenter on track
gaming:
Thursday, March 26, 2009
By Steve Green
The Las Vegas economy dodged a bullet today when MGM Mirage stepped up to fund a required payment for CityCenter, keeping the project on track. The hotel and gaming giant said that with the consent of its lenders, it provided $200 million in funding -- including a required payment of $100 million that partner Dubai World did not make today. This allows construction work to proceed on the mammoth project on the Las Vegas Strip that includes hotels, residences, gaming, shopping and entertainment.
A scaled model of the completed CityCenter project sits in the visitors center in the Bellagio. The $8.7 billion project is expected to bring more than 10,000 jobs to the Las Vegas area.
CityCenter partner might want more say
gaming: Experts say Dubai World’s lawsuit not an attempt to exit, but to exert greater control
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
By Liz Benston
Dubai World argues in the lawsuit it filed this week that MGM Mirage has defaulted on its CityCenter agreement, giving the foreign conglomerate the legal right to sever the relationship. But gaming industry analysts and other observers say the real purpose of the lawsuit is not to break the partnership.
MGM lending pitch from Ensign, Reid so far on ethical up-and-up
Pols asked for ‘fair shake’ for MGM Mirage
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
By Lisa Mascaro
A small buzz has followed Nevada’s two senators after disclosures that they asked institutions to consider lending money to MGM Mirage so it can finish CityCenter. Ethics watchdogs are greeting those questions with a collective shrug.
Expert: Reid, Ensign likely didn't break rules over CityCenter
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Associated Press
Harry Reid's clout as Senate majority leader makes it important that he explain and justify the calls he made to banks on behalf of MGM Mirage seeking loans, an ethics expert said Tuesday. The Nevada Democrat went to bat for the $8.6 billion CityCenter project after his top campaign contributor, MGM Mirage Inc., asked the senator to call the banks on its behalf.
Reid, Ensign made calls to banks for MGM
gaming:
Monday, March 23, 2009
By Lisa Mascaro
Nevada’s two senators personally called the CEOs and other top representatives of financial institutions asking them to consider loans to MGM’s troubled CityCenter project -- the nation’s largest private building project that employs 10,000 workers in Las Vegas.
Before recession, success further fed gaming industry’s egos
But other factors helped set big companies up for the fall
Monday, March 16, 2009
By Liz Benston
Harrah’s Entertainment Chief Executive Gary Loveman once described CityCenter, built by competitor MGM Mirage, as “the sort of casino God would build if he had the money.”
Without owners at table, unions unwilling to talk
citycenter:
Thursday, March 12, 2009
By Alexandra Berzon
After meeting Monday to discuss a request that CityCenter and Cosmopolitan workers accept pay cuts and other concessions, building trades union officials were prepared to reject the proposal made by general contractor Perini Building Co.
Construction workers leave MGM Mirage's CityCenter after work on Friday. Perini Building Co., the general contractor on CityCenter and Cosmopolitan, in meetings with unions this week sought wage and raise concessions from about 11,000 workers on the sites. Both projects are suffering financial difficulties in the deepening recession.
Perini seeks union givebacks
THE ECONOMY: CityCenter, Cosmopolitan contractor looks to workers to cut projects’ costs
Saturday, March 7, 2009
By Liz Benston, Alexandra Berzon
CityCenter and Cosmopolitan general contractor Perini Building Co. has asked building trades unions to take pay cuts and make other concessions as they work to complete the financially troubled projects, according to several sources familiar with the negotiations. In meetings Thursday, Perini Chief Executive Craig Shaw and top executives of the CityCenter and Cosmopolitan projects asked for $2-an-hour wage decreases from about 11,000 trades members on those jobs, say sources involved in the discussion who did not want to be identified because the meetings were confidential.
In spite of a worsening cash cruch for developer MGM Mirage, CityCenter will be mostly completed by the end of the year, spokesman Alan Feldman says.
MGM Mirage’s cash crunch
GAMING: With credit line tapped out, bonds and loans coming due, Chapter 11 seen as risk
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
By Liz Benston
Just months ago MGM Mirage, with billions of dollars in cash at its disposal, was thought to be well braced for the recession. But last week’s news that MGM Mirage has tapped the remaining money from a $4.5 billion credit line is adding anxiety among investors for the company’s future. And in a sign of how swiftly the nation’s economic headwinds have stiffened, analysts now say Nevada’s largest employer is at risk of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it enters the final stretch of building the $9 billion CityCenter.
CityCenter hotels begin accepting reservations
Monday, February 23, 2009
By Las Vegas Sun Staff
CityCenter announced today it is beginning to accept reservations for the Vdara Hotel and Aria Resort and Casino.
Resumes get scant inspection
CONSTRUCTION: Clark County does not routinely verify work histories of those it approves to inspect sites
Sunday, February 22, 2009
By Alexandra Berzon
One of the CityCenter inspectors who failed to spot serious errors at the Harmon high rise was approved by Clark County to monitor complex construction projects after submitting a curious resume.
Perini heeds safety critique
CONSTRUCTION: Audit of hazards is met with promises to improve Strip sites
Thursday, February 19, 2009
By Alexandra Berzon
Perini Building Co. will take a number of steps to improve workplace safety, including responding more quickly to safety concerns and establishing a phone number for confidential reporting of safety problems. Eight deaths have occurred at CityCenter and Cosmopolitan, massive adjacent projects.
Reports suggest fixes for CityCenter safety problems
Researchers put together safety audit based on surveys, interviews
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
By Alexandra Berzon
The Center for Construction Research and Training unveiled a series of reports Wednesday that aim to diagnose and recommend fixes for safety problems endangering workers at the CityCenter and Cosmopolitan construction sites.
CityCenter work often precedes approval of plans
Ultimately, county says, it ensures compliance with codes
Monday, February 16, 2009
By Alexandra Berzon
In hundreds of instances, construction at MGM Mirage’s massive CityCenter project has moved forward based on unapproved engineering, a Sun review of reports issued by private inspectors at the work site shows. In those cases, inspectors on the project reported that contractors were working from last-minute drawings that affected the structural integrity of the building but had not been approved by the county. In some cases, the engineer of record also had not approved the drawings.
Big Apple’s big lesson on safety training
WORKER SAFETY: It should be backed up with strict enforcement
Friday, February 13, 2009
By Alexandra Berzon
Faced with the same predicament as Las Vegas — a string of construction deaths — New York City has turned to worker safety training.
MGM Mirage's $9 billion CityCenter project is seen from the Panorama Towers. In the wake of errors made in the placement of reinforcing steel on the project's Harmon hotel, Clark County has changed its policy in regard to the inspectors who work on the site.
Perini redirects blame for errors at Harmon
CONSTRUCTION: Company president: Design flaws mishandled by subcontractor, inspectors
Monday, February 9, 2009
By Alexandra Berzon
Perini Building Co. is disputing Clark County’s claim that construction problems alone — and not design problems — led to the faulty installation of reinforcing steel at CityCenter’s troubled Harmon tower.
Adaptation or 'disaster'?
Adaptation or 'disaster'?
ARCHITECTURE: Depends on your view of the Harmon, from the street or of its ultimate design
Sunday, February 8, 2009
By Joe Brown
MGM Mirage argues the Harmon's diminished height will scarcely be visible from the street. But architects not associated with the project say CityCenter’s grand and gracious addition to the Las Vegas skyline has been compromised.
MGM Mirage's $9 billion Strip-side CityCenter project, encompassing seven buildings, continues rising Thursday across Interstate 15 from Panorama Towers.
County wants proof CityCenter structures are free of defects
Friday, February 6, 2009
By Alexandra Berzon
Clark County has ordered MGM Mirage to verify that CityCenter’s towers are structurally sound six months after significant structural defects were found in one of seven buildings at the company’s project. The problems were repeatedly missed by third-party private inspector Converse Consultants, hired by MGM Mirage to ensure the complicated tasks were properly executed.
Bill McBeath stands with a model of MGM Mirage's CityCenter project. The Aria resort, of which McBeath is president, is represented by the model building immediately to his left.
Bill McBeath, president and COO, Aria Resort
Six Questions:
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
By Liz Benston
Bill McBeath is president and chief operating officer of CityCenter’s 4,000-room Aria resort, which opens in mid-December.
Harmon condo cancellation helps some, hurts others
Friday, January 16, 2009
By Buck Wargo
The decision by MGM Mirage to cancel one of its condo components at CityCenter has some buyers looking for alternatives and Realtors lamenting the loss of income. CityCenter has decided not to build the top floors of the Harmon tower, where 207 condominiums were to sit on top of a 400-room hotel. Nearly 90 of the units were sold, but the project has been limited to a hotel only because of construction flaws.
The Harmon, center, was designed to rise to 49 floors, with condominiums built above the hotel floors. But the discovery of and attempts to fix a critical mistake in construction have CityCenter developer MGM Mirage deciding to scrap the condo part of the project.
Watchers were not watched
CONSTRUCTION: County failed to spot-check inspectors’ work as flaws developed at CityCenter
Thursday, January 15, 2009
By Alexandra Berzon
Clark County’s Development Services Department has no record of its monitors ever visiting the Harmon construction project at CityCenter during the period last year when faulty rebar was installed in the tower, department officials said.
CityCenter career adviser Renee Garner, left, says goodbye to Catrice Wall after speaking with her about a bartender position Monday at a job center. Many among the record 35,000 who applied in less than a week are out of work, and jobs at the resort on the Strip represent a rare opportunity in this economy.
CityCenter extending hope on a huge scale
the economy: Applicants of all backgrounds are lining up for a shot at its openings
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
By Liz Benston
Shellshocked from months of fruitless searching, job seekers showed up Monday with scrubbed faces and sharp suits at a large building behind the Mirage. As many as 700 people per day will enter the building to await a turn with CityCenter human resources staffers.
The Harmon isn’t Strip’s only troubled condo
GAMING: But for others, credit crunch is the problem
Monday, January 12, 2009
By Liz Benston
The discovery of structural problems at CityCenter’s The Harmon, which led developers last week to scale down the hotel and scrap plans for about 200 condominium units, might be viewed as an unfortunate incident that turned into a lucky break for partner MGM Mirage.
Company exec says scaling down is most logical move
Thursday, January 8, 2009
By Liz Benston
MGM Mirage could have built a structurally sound 49-story building, but given the economic climate, the company and its partners decided it wasn’t worth the additional time and money to finish The Harmon as planned, the company’s top executive said Wednesday.
The Harmon won't open until 2010, but the hotel's exterior will be finished and the building lighted when CityCenter is unveiled this year.
How did CityCenter tower flaws persist?
Failed safeguards puzzle county inspections official
Thursday, January 8, 2009
By Alexandra Berzon
Clark County is investigating the consultants hired by CityCenter owner MGM Mirage to inspect the structural integrity of construction work at the site, after faulty rebar caused massive problems in the project’s Harmon tower.
The Harmon, center, was designed to rise to 49 floors, with condominiums built above the hotel floors. But the discovery of and attempts to fix a critical mistake in construction have CityCenter developer MGM Mirage deciding to scrap the condo part of the project.
MGM Mirage cancels CityCenter condo project
County official says ‘significant’ errors found on 14 floors of CityCenter unit
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
By Liz Benston, Joe Schoenmann
The Harmon Hotel & Spa – originally planned as a 49-story building with some 200 condominiums atop 400 hotel rooms, will no longer offer condominiums and instead will open in late 2010 as a 400-room hotel, MGM Mirage said today. The Harmon, one of six towers at MGM Mirage's CityCenter resort complex under construction on the Strip, had been slated to open in November.
The $9.2 billion CityCenter project towers over the Strip on the west side of Las Vegas Boulevard. CityCenter announced Monday it is accepting applications for about 12,000 new jobs.
CityCenter accepting applications for 12,000 jobs
Monday, January 5, 2009
By Cydney Cappello
CityCenter is accepting applications beginning today to fill 12,000 positions, the largest employment opportunity available in the country, the company said.
Evidence of change: Six months, no fatalities
CONSTRUCTION WORKER DEATHS ON THE STRIP: Union safety rep says all involved have contributed to improvement
Sunday, December 28, 2008
By Alexandra Berzon
Twelve workers died in accidents at Strip construction sites during the first 18 months of Las Vegas’s current building boom. In the past six months, not one worker has died.
CityCenter seeking more than 12,000 workers
MGM Mirage expects more than 100,000 applicants in down economy
Thursday, December 18, 2008
By Liz Benston
As employers nationwide shed workers amid the deepening recession, MGM Mirage will kick off the country's largest hiring spree Jan. 5 as it seeks more than 12,000 workers for its $9.2 billion CityCenter resort and other company-owned properties.
After crane operator Dustin Tarter died in June, workers at CityCenter painted a memorial on a beam of the project. A safety inspection followed his death, and general contractor Perini Building Co. is still appealing some of the findings.
After 6 die, OSHA finds violations
WORKER SAFETY: Summer sweep by federal, state agencies uncovered dozens of serious problems
Sunday, December 14, 2008
By Alexandra Berzon
State and federal safety inspectors found 42 serious violations last summer during a sweeping review of the CityCenter construction site that followed a string of fatalities there, a review of recently released documents shows.
Construction continues Monday at MGM Mirage's $9.2 billion CityCenter project, where six workers have suffered fatal injuries in the past year and a half. Recent studies gauged workers' perceptions about safety at the site.
Reports: Perini’s safety wanting
Construction worker DEATHS ON THE STRIP: Analyses fault resort contractor for hazards, congestion, lax follow-up after accidents
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
By Alexandra Berzon
Two stinging reports say there’s more the Perini Building Co., the general contractor of the CityCenter and Cosmopolitan construction sites, can and should do to create safe work sites.
Sign of the times
Sign of the times
Thursday, October 30, 2008
By T.R. Witcher
Vegas is all about signage, but something about the splashy new sign that went up on top of the Vdara condo tower at CityCenter doesn’t click.
Worker hurt at CityCenter
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
By Alexandra Berzon
A 36-year old construction worker was injured Wednesday morning at CityCenter when a heavy piece of sheetmetal fell on his neck and shoulders.
Perini wants safety culture but it’s not a ‘reaction’
CONSTRUCTION WORKER DEATHS ON THE STRIP: CityCenter developer’s approach is aimed at ‘continuous improvement’
Friday, August 15, 2008
By Alexandra Berzon
The challenge is a tough one: change the “culture of safety” midway through a round-the-clock construction project that employs thousands of workers.
Federal government expands its role in local safety inspections
Monday, August 4, 2008
By Alexandra Berzon
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has finished its physical inspections of CityCenter, a Nevada OSHA spokesperson said last week.
Worker injured at CityCenter
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
By Alexandra Berzon
A worker was injured this morning at a CityCenter construction site after he fell down a flight of stairs and landed in a basement area. He was conscious and breathing and complaining of back and shoulder pain, said Clark County Fire Department spokesperson Scott Allison.
End of ban on cell phones in sports books expected
Looking in on: gaming:
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
By Liz Benston
The Gaming Control Board, which investigated the change and recommended the commission remove the ban, says the ban has grown ineffective in preventing the transfer of betting lines — information that’s readily available on the Internet — to illegal bookies.
2 workers injured in CityCenter fall
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
By Alexandra Berzon
Two workers were injured after falling 22 feet at the CityCenter construction site this afternoon.
George Cole and his wife, Monique, in front of the U.S. Capitol on Monday, are in Washington for a House committee hearing. George Cole, brother-in-law of ironworker Harold Billingsley, who was killed on the CityCenter project in October, will testify today on whether OSHA is failing to adequately enforce construction safety rules.
Five minutes to save lives
CONSTRUCTION WORKER DEATHS ON THE STRIP: Relative of fall victim has so much to say to House panel, so little time
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
By Alexandra Berzon
A lot rides on George Cole’s five once-in-a-lifetime minutes. It’s a chance to educate lawmakers and the public about what Cole, with 42 years of ironwork experience in Las Vegas, thinks needs to be changed to make construction safer.
Battle of the Titans
Battle of the Titans
Construction: Stacking up CityCenter with Hoover Dam
Thursday, June 12, 2008
By T.R. Witcher
With the recent death of a sixth construction worker at the CityCenter construction site, the comparisons between the enormous project and its spiritual brother, the Hoover Dam—where construction fatalities were also a fact of life—come into further relief. They are, after all, the two most dynamic construction projects in the history of Nevada.
Steve Ross, head of the Building and Construction Trades Council, speaks to reporters Tuesday after a deal with the contractor had been reached.
Strip carousers hear picketers’ grievances
Early-morning protest over worker deaths, safety gives way to deal
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
By Alexandra Berzon
As 2 a.m. neared on Tuesday, construction workers marched in circles outside the locked gates of CityCenter, their picket signs raised above their heads: “Unsafe Job Site.” Karaoke from the Hawaiian Marketplace across the Las Vegas Strip grew more and more discordant, as it does there every night.
Perini pledges to boost training, assess site safety
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Las Vegas Sun
Perini Building Co. made a rare public statement Tuesday about safety concerns at its Strip construction sites, which include CityCenter and Cosmopolitan. Workers ended a one-day walkout at those sites late Tuesday.
Construction workers picket in front of MGM Mirage's CityCenter Tuesday afternoon in protest of safety conditions for the $9.2 billion project. The strike, which started late Monday night in reaction to the deaths of 11 workers on Strip projects over the last year and a half, ended when union leaders and contractor Perini Building Co. reached an agreement on improved safety conditions.
Safety agreement ends walkout on Strip
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
By Alexandra Berzon
Construction will resume on MGM Mirage's CityCenter as early as tonight because union officials and contractor Perini Building Company have reached an agreement on safety improvements at the site.
Shortly after midnight Monday, construction workers picket MGM Mirage's CityCenter to protest safety conditions at the project after talks between leaders from local building trades unions and the site's general contractor, Perini Building Co., broke off earlier that night.
Workers walk off CityCenter site in protest
Union leaders: We’ll picket until contractor meets demands for increased safety
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
By Alexandra Berzon
Construction workers shut down MGM Mirage’s CityCenter at midnight Monday, walking off the job to protest safety conditions at the $9.2 billion project after a rash of fatal construction accidents at the site and on the Las Vegas Strip.
BREAKING: Construction workers to walk off CityCenter site
Monday, June 2, 2008
By Alexandra Berzon
Construction workers at the $9.2 billion MGM Mirage CityCenter project are expected to walk off the job at midnight in a disagreement over safety at the site, union officials said late tonight.
Already, CityCenter’s scale, complexity unparalleled
Vdara tower hint of project’s imposing presence
Friday, May 16, 2008
By Liz Benston
For all the stories I’ve written about CityCenter, the largest construction project in the country, nothing could have prepared me for the experience of standing in the middle of it this week.