CityCenter will prove that it's easy being green
By the end of 2009, MGM Mirage in Las Vegas will be preparing to show the world its “green” thumb in the hospitality industry. Charting a new course for responsible growth, in a joint venture with Dubai World, it is building CityCenter, an unprecedented vertical metropolis on the Las Vegas Strip that is currently the largest registered environmentally sustainable community in the United States and one of the largest in the world.
Valued at more than $9 billion and constructed on 67 acres with 18 million square feet of interior space, MGM Mirage designed the project, which boasts 7,500 construction workers, with eight internationally acclaimed architectural firms. CityCenter will feature ARIA, a 61-story, 4,000-room gaming resort; three luxury non-gaming hotels including Las Vegas’ first Mandarin Oriental, The Harmon Hotel & Spa, and Vdara Condo Hotel; Veer Towers, the development’s only strictly residential buildings consisting of approximately 2,600 condominium residences, and The Crystals, a 500,000-square-foot retail and entertainment district. CityCenter also will feature a $40 million public fine art program with works by acclaimed artists as well as entertainment, retail and restaurants.
“We looked at other great cities in the world and realized that Las Vegas was missing some of the things that they offered,” says Gordon Absher, Vice President of Public Affairs for MGM Mirage. “We set about designing a project that was a combination of people working, living, playing and visiting in the same space. We were encouraged by the architects to build high performance buildings.”
To that avail, CityCenter is being constructed to the standards of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program. Electricity will be generated by a co-generation plant on site that will use natural gas while the throw-off heat will be used to heat the water at CityCenter. The seven towers are all covered with glass and there will be Arin-fins or shades over every window to deflect radiant heat.
Construction materials, both from the demolished hotel previously on site and current construction waste, are being recycled. The development is being built with materials from recycled sources, rapidly renewable sources and sustainable forests that are manufactured within a 500-mile radius. Interior paint, carpets, wall coverings and furniture are all of low VOC (volatile organic compounds) materials to protect indoor air quality. All of the ducting is kept sealed during construction to prevent dust and other elements from settling inside. And the list goes on, from site selection from construction material selection and finally to operation.
It’s the green light on a new day for Las Vegas.
- by Bobbie Katz, Las Vegas Reporter for HelloMetro
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