Girish Mahajan (Editor)

The Harmon

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Status
  
Demolished

Construction started
  
2007

Floors
  
28

Phone
  
+1 702-836-0836

Type
  
Hotel

Completed
  
2009

Opened
  
2009

Architect
  
Norman Foster

The Harmon

Alternative names
  
The Harmon Hotel & Residences Project CityCenter Lifestyle Hotel Project CityCenter Block C - North Tower

Location
  
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109 United States

Address
  
3663 S Las Vegas Blvd # 600, Las Vegas, NV 89109, USA

Similar
  
CityCenter, Fontainebleau Resort Las Vegas, The Shops at Crystals, Sky Las Vegas, Slots‑A‑Fun Casino

Demolishing the harmon building


The Harmon was a highrise building at the CityCenter development in Paradise, Nevada. The tower was designed by Foster + Partners as a non-gaming boutique hotel, and was to be operated by Andrew Sasson's The Light Group upon completion. The building featured an elliptical layout and highly reflective exterior located on the northeast corner of the project at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue. Serious construction defects to the building were discovered in 2008, and the project was halted indefinitely. On August 23, 2013, a Clark County court approved the tower's demolition. The dismantling of the tower began in the summer of 2014 and completed in the fall of 2015.

Contents

An irony of implosion the harmon las vegas


History

At the beginning of the project, the hotel was called the Lifestyle Hotel and then The Harmon Hotel, Spa & Residences. The tower was planned to have 400 hotel rooms and approximately 207 condominium residences from 800 to 2,900 sq ft (74 to 269 m2) on 49 floors. The hotel's pool deck was planned to be on the roof high above the Las Vegas Strip. The exterior of the building was finished in 2009 but the interior work to correct the construction issues was to continue into 2010.

Project scope reduction

In late 2008, work on the Harmon Hotel/Condo Tower was stopped after inspectors discovered construction defects: county inspectors discovered improper installation by Pacific Coast Steel of critical steel reinforcements (rebar) after 15 stories of the building had already been erected. The error caused a major change in the building's design; instead of being 49 stories, it was reduced to 28 stories with the condominium element, The Harmon Residences removed entirely. At the time, 88 of the 207 condominiums were reserved by buyers who had put 20 percent down. Those buyers were offered refunds or the option to buy in other buildings. Due to the delay and alterations to the design, the building was delayed past the other CityCenter projects and was scheduled to be finished in late 2010 but was delayed indefinitely. The canceled units ranged in size from 980 to 3,700 square feet (91 to 344 m2). With litigation pending due to the defects, construction was halted, and MGM Resorts International, the owner of CityCenter, targeted the building for complete demolition.

On July 11, 2011, a report was released by Weidlinger Associates, an engineering firm hired by MGM Resorts International. This report indicated that the building was likely to collapse in a major earthquake and that a determination of possible repairs would take at least a year. On August 15, 2011, MGM announced plans to implode the building.

The hotel's demolition was approved by a judge in August 2013, as the building represented a threat to public safety due to the risk of collapse in an earthquake. Dismantling of the hotel began in June 2014 and was completed in 2015. The dismantling is expected to cost $11.5 million.

In the fall of 2014, a large and complex legal dispute between CityCenter and the hotel's builders started. Each side has accused the other of breaching their contract and is seeking damages as high as $400 million. The trial was expected to last a year, however a settlement was reached a few months later.

References

The Harmon Wikipedia