Clark
County's Building Division gave CityCenter developers until Aug. 15 to
devise a strategy for either repairing or demolishing the unfinished
Harmon tower after a structural engineer said the 27-story building
could collapse in a strong earthquake.
In a letter Tuesday to CityCenter executive William Ham, Clark County
Building Official Ron Lynn said the development, owned by MGM Resorts
International and Dubai World, is required to "provide a plan of action
that will abate the potential for structural collapse and protect"
neighboring buildings and businesses along the Strip.
Lynn specifically cited the Crystals shopping center, its high-end
retail stores and the pedestrian overpasses across the Strip and Harmon
Avenue as areas that could be damaged if the Harmon were to collapse.
The county's request comes a day after structural engineering firm
Weidlinger Associates of Marina Del Rey, Calif., said the Harmon was
unrepairable.
Conceived as a 47-story luxury hotel and condominium tower and designed
by famed British architect Lord Norman Foster, the Harmon was scaled
back in size and scope and eventually mothballed after building
inspectors discovered structural construction defects in 2008.
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The Harmon at CityCenter
is the subject of
litigation between MGM Resorts International and PeriniBuilding Co.
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