CityCenter Openings - Perini Perspectives

History

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Building Green

Perini Building Company was ranked #2 in Engineering News-Record's most recent rankings of Top 100 Green Contractors (based on revenues from registered sustainable projects). We were No. 1 in two subcategories, "Sports/Entertainment and Civil" and "Retail".

Created with a vision to bring a new level of environmental consciousness to the world-famous Strip, CityCenter is one of the world’s largest sustainable developments, from design and construction to operations and guest amenities. The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded LEED® Gold certification to ARIA, Vdara Hotel & Spa, Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas, Veer Towers and Crystals. This marks the highest LEED achievement of any hotel, retail district or residential development in Las Vegas. Using cutting-edge solutions, CityCenter has been able to grow responsibly without sacrificing the quality of materials or guest experience.

Due to its size and purchasing power, CityCenter is driving green economies of scale in multiple industry segments, paving the way for other entities to build and operate sustainably. In November, the Forest Stewardship Council-US (FSC-US®) honored CityCenter as the best commercial project of 2009 in the fifth annual Designing & Building with FSC Awards. CityCenter’s dedication to the use of sustainably harvested FSC-certified wood products is unprecedented in scale and resulted in a significant market transformation, including multiple wood suppliers receiving their FSC chain of custody certification to supply wood to the development. CityCenter has moved beyond existing green practices to empower industry-wide innovations.

Key Sustainable Highlights

First energy generation on The Strip through its 8.5 megawatt natural-gas co-generation plant, providing efficient electricity on site, reducing emissions and using “waste heat” to provide all domestic hot water
Water conservation technology and programs will save between 30% and 43% of water within the buildings and 60% in outdoor landscaping, for an overall savings of approximately 50 million gallons annually
World’s first fleet of stretch limos powered by clean-burning compressed natural gas (CNG)
Development of slot machine bases that serve as floor air-handling units, efficiently cooling guests from the ground up, rather than wasting energy on empty space by cooling from the ceiling
Energy-efficiency initiatives will provide a savings equivalent to powering 8,800 households annually
Creation of a large-scale recycling operation that enabled the recycling or reuse of more than 260,000 tons of construction waste, more than 80% of the imploded Boardwalk Hotel
Collaborating with the nation’s foremost sustainability and LEED consultants, CityCenter introduced more than 10,000 construction trade and craftsmen to green building techniques that can be implemented at future developments

“CityCenter captures the energy and diversity of Las Vegas in one of the world’s largest green developments,” said Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of MGM MIRAGE. “Designing CityCenter with sustainable elements and practices reinforces its permanence and creates a healthier environment for our guests and residents, as well as for the 12,000 people who work at CityCenter.”

SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS

Construction and Recycling

The Boardwalk Hotel was imploded to make way for CityCenter. 80% of the previous structure has been recycled into the building materials or sent elsewhere for reuse. Crushed blocks and mortar were used in dust abatement on the construction site and as aggregate in concrete and asphalt; recycled whole and broken glass, and bathroom fixtures were shipped to other countries for reuse after being wrapped in Boardwalk curtains and carpets as recycled packing materials
95% of all construction waste that would have ended up in landfills was recycled
Ventilation systems were completely sealed until installed, which protected them from the dust, smoke and harmful particles present on a construction site. No smoking was allowed on the site once the ventilation was sealed, ensuring vastly higher indoor air quality
CityCenter used Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) wood, only taken from forests with responsible management practices. Low volatile organic compound (VOC) paints were used, along with enough sustainable certified carpet to cover 140 American football fields
Reclaimed water from the neighboring Monte Carlo Resort & Casino was used for dust control in place of precious drinking water, which contributed to savings of 2.4 million gallons of potable water
A concrete batch plant allowed concrete to be generated on site saving gas and energy
Each room was carefully sealed to prevent migration of tobacco smoke ensuring freshness and comfort for each guest

An 8.5 megawatt natural gas co-generation plant provides efficient electricity on site (10% of overall CityCenter use), reduces emissions and utilizes the waste heat from the power generation to provide all the domestic hot water necessary at CityCenter, including within its numerous pools
Each tower has energy-efficient exterior features to help reduce the heat transfer from the sun onto the buildings, including air-brows, reflective rooftops, specially coated windows and high-performance glass
CityCenter worked with manufacturers to invent designer water fixtures that deliver incredibly satisfying, pressurized showers while using a third less water
Outdoor landscaping was carefully selected to provide a beautiful array of native desert plant life, which is watered through a highly efficient irrigation system. The system is equipped with moisture controls to ensure watering is only done when necessary
Marquees, signs and slot machines are energy efficient

Diversity Initative

MGM MIRAGE and Perini Building Company spent more than $700 million in construction and design contracts with minority-owned firms throughout the five-year CityCenter project.

“As part of our Company’s Diversity Initiative, we undertook an aggressive approach to ensure that minority-owned firms had maximum opportunity to participate in the project,” said Bobby Baldwin, president and CEO of CityCenter. “In many cases, these contractors ultimately doubled and tripled the size of their firms as well as their bonding capacity, and gained a wealth of valuable experience in the process.”

The Construction Diversity team, consisting of MGM MIRAGE and Perini representatives, was focused exclusively on promoting economic equality and establishing a more level playing field for smaller, minority-owned firms in the competitive construction bidding process.

Due to the enormous scope of the project and its extensive bidding opportunities, CityCenter assigned eight people to the team.

The team facilitated joint ventures and mentoring partnerships between minority-owned and larger firms and initiated contract “de-bundling” – where contracts were divided into smaller portions to accommodate the more limited resources of smaller companies.

The team also created a two-day training program entitled “Construction and Business Management Training Program” for firms that were brought on board at CityCenter. The program focused on technical, business and management essentials in the construction industry, enabling the participants to strengthen their business and leadership skills, increase their project management proficiency and maximize their potential for project success.

“For many of these companies, CityCenter represented the business growth opportunity of a lifetime,” said Perini Building Company Vice Chairman Dick Rizzo. “We sought out the most qualified local firms, then used our Company’s national contacts to cast our net far and wide across the United States to identify the most qualified minority-owned firms. As a result, CityCenter had the highest proportion of minority representation in Perini’s history.”