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Engineering company finds Harmon tower construction defects 'pervasive'
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John Locher/Las Vegas Review-Journal
The Harmon, shown Nov. 11 at CityCenter, is the subject of litigation between MGM Resorts International and Perini Building Co. » Buy this photo
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
The unfinished Harmon tower at CityCenter is virtually unrepairable and could collapse in a "code-level" earthquake, according to a structural engineer hired by MGM Resorts International who examined the 27-story building.
In the report, members of Weidlinger Associates of Marina Del Rey, Calif., said they ran several tests on the building and found missing or misplaced reinforcing steel in columns, beams, shear walls and transfer walls throughout the tower below the 21st floor.
"The construction defects in the tower observed to date are so pervasive and varied in character that it is not possible to quickly implement a temporary or permanent repair to remediate the defects, or even determine whether such repairs can be performed," Chuckwuma Ekwueme, an associate principal with Weidlinger told CityCenter Vice President of Facility Operations William Ham in a letter dated Monday.
A "code-level earthquake" is based on the probability of an earthquake strong enough to damage structures occurring once every 500 years. The rating varies by region, depending on several factors including fault lines and soil conditions.
In the letter, Ekwueme said that if a code-level earthquake were to take place, "it is likely that critical structural members in the tower will fail and become incapable of supporting gravity loads, leading to a partial or complete collapse of the tower."
The Harmon, part of the $8.5 billion CityCenter, was originally designed by the firm of famed British architect Lord Norman Foster as a 47-story hotel and condominium tower.
In 2008, building inspectors found structural work on the Harmon did not match plans submitted to Clark County. The construction issues involved improperly placed steel reinforcing bar, commonly known as rebar.
In January 2009, MGM Resorts scrapped the planned 200 condominium units for the upper floors and stopped the tower at 27 stories, focusing on the Harmon having just 400 hotel rooms. Company officials said at the time they would delay finishing the tower and wait until 2010 to decide what to do next.
CityCenter, which includes the Aria hotel-casino, the nongaming Vdara and Mandarin Oriental hotels, the all-residential Veer Towers, and the Crystals retail, dining and entertainment mall, opened in December 2009.
The Harmon's construction defect issues became the focal point of a lawsuit between MGM Resorts and Perini Building Co. that was filed last year in Clark County District Court. Clark County Building officials halted any construction to be done to the Harmon.
In April, the building division asked CityCenter, which is jointly owned by MGM Resorts and Dubai World, to analyze the Harmon tower and podium after its own consultant, Walter P. Moore Structural Engineers, concluded "the structure suffered from certain vulnerabilities."
In a letter to Ham, Clark County Building Official Ron Lynn said the Harmon needed to be further analyzed, "to minimize further risks to life safety, Las Vegas Boulevard, and adjacent habitable structures."
Members of Weidlinger said it would take at least "12 to 14 months" to conduct a study that would determine "how to remediate the tower or whether repairs are possible, even in its current unoccupied condition."
MGM Resorts spokesman Gordon Absher said CityCenter officials forwarded the report by Weidlinger to Clark County and will await direction from the county as to what the next steps are with the Harmon.
"The analysis from the engineering consultant confirms the pervasiveness and severity of the defective construction work at Harmon," Absher said. "We've turned over the information to the county and are awaiting direction as to the next steps."
In an emailed statement, Lynn said he directed that the report be prepared after previous concerns about the building were raised.
"I just received the report and will take time to review and analyze its contents before deciding upon a course of action," Lynn said.
Attempts to reach Perini for comment Monday were unsuccessful.
The litigation between CityCenter and Perini is on hold pending the outcome of a hearing that was held May 3 in front of the Nevada Supreme Court concerning technicalities with the case. A district judge stayed the lawsuit last year.
Meanwhile, MGM Resorts officials said the company settled claims with all but seven of the 220 first-tier subcontractors that hadn't been paid once Perini and CityCenter became involved in the legal skirmish.
MGM Resorts took over settling payment matters with the subcontractors, paying $3.95 billion for work on CityCenter. MGM Resorts officials have said they paid 99 percent of what had been billed by subcontractors.
Of the seven subcontractors that haven't been paid, two are owned by Perini, three are directly involved in the Harmon litigation and two have litigation ongoing with Perini.
The Harmon was to be run as a nongaming hotel by The Light Group, a restaurant and nightclub operator. The Harmon would also feature MR CHOW, a branch of the popular Los Angeles restaurant owned by Michael Chow.
But with the building the focus of litigation, construction was halted on the interior. The outside of the building is blue glass which surrounds what is essentially an empty shell.
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
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No real mystery here. Ron Lynn's S.O.P....
Google: Mc Anally Indicted
It boggles the mind why the RJ doesn't expose this fool for what he is and run him out of town, once and FOR THE SAFETY OF US ALL.
Lied on his application. Bagged and tagged by the Kessler Report.
Instead of firing this fool, They'll eventually name a school after him. Hopefully it won't be a highrise....
I rest my case....
Desert hawk....... This was a negotiated job for Perini. They had the plans and the specs available for budgeting, long before they ever broke ground on the site. If the concrete Sub had an issue with his pump system, he should have found a different way to get the concrete up to the floors. If te Steel sub had a problem with his portion of the work, it should have been discussed at the negotiating or the bid stage. The guilty party is the Clark County Building Dept, for letting the work progress. If Mini Me ( Ron Lynn) was paying attention at all, he would have had his inspectors stop the job, and address the issues immediately.instead, he let the jb progress and get closed in. He truly should resign for such a blunder as this.....
Liberal.Socialist has it right. The Building Inspector and the person in charge at Perini are at fault.
Also, all the construction workers are required to "follow directions" or risk losing their jobs, should they speak up about being "ordered" to do something they feel is not correct.
In addition, I think the architect pushed his luck with his crazy design that obviously could not be built safely. And, of course the structural engineers messed up big time! If the concrete guys could not feed their pump into the wall properly, because of the design, it's not their fault..... and if the Ironworkers could not place the 50 ft. #10 bar into " an already-built cage" because it would take too long, or because it just could not be done due again, to poor design, it again, is not their fault!
So, in my opinion, the architect and engineers also must take the blame. What can now be done about it??
The building must be imploded or torn down.
Deebo don't pack nuthin' stoopid, ugly, or more stoopid......
Deebo.James are you the guy from the Friday movie. I have 6 high rises under my belt. The only thing you have under your belt is stupid, ugly and more stupid. Pump that.
Quinn.... When you have built something any larger than a small elementary school, than you can pop off. In the meantime, just keep pumping your chest and demanding respect... LOL
the good news is that when the wrecking ball is called in, harry "the war is lost" reid can again borrow that hard hat. in the photo op reid could claim to have "created" those nevada jobs, demolishing the structure.
I have read all 81 comments and not one of them is correct as far as the building process is concerned. There is a very high level of knowledge and skill needed to complete a tall structure as well as any building. I will say no more, except to the 81 comments that are posted. The conversations you have with yourself must be very boring and the mirror you look in to consult with must be broken from listening to your thoughts. Get some toilet paper and wipe your faces. Get the facts.
It is defective at least for purposes of litigation. Earlier this year, Perini Building Co filed a $500 million dollar lawsuit for non-payment of the final contract amount. MGM Grand obviously doesn't want to pay. MGM Grand hires someone to say it is defective. Let the Litigation begin.
You people have to understand that changes are made everyday in the construction of a building. An engineer writes up the blueprints before the building is built but unforseen things come about during construction that needs to be changed. There is a right and legal way to change these things (an engineer must make and approve the changes), and in a building of this size things are changed every day in one phase of the building or another. My point is that just because an ironworker is told to it differantly doesnt mean that he should assume they are breaking the law. They might not have thaught twice about because it happens all the time. If the person making the changes doesnt do it legally then they are to blame