Tishman Completes Las Vegas' $8.5 Billion CityCenter Project

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(LAS VEGAS, NV) -- Today the city of Las Vegas celebrates the grand opening of their new $8.5 billion dollar CityCenter mega-project, and the construction company behind the scenes of the largest private development in U.S. history is New York based Tishman Construction Corporation.

Tishman is one of the nation's oldest (111 years in business) and largest construction managers and building contractors in the country. Tishman is responsible for the construction of more than 435 million square feet of space, and ranks #2 in the nation on the Building Design & Construction's Top Construction Managers list.

Over the last 60 months Tishman has been building this 18-million-square-foot project for MGM MIRAGE and Infinity World Development Corporation (a subsidiary of Dubai World), owners of CityCenter.   

"Tishman is accustomed to taking on complicated mega-projects and to sorting out their logistical challenges and wide-ranging issues.  We worked side-by-side with the MGM MIRAGE executive team to meet their needs during every step of the process," said Daniel R. Tishman, Chairman and CEO of Tishman Construction.  "Our professionals thrive on managing the complexities and meeting the challenges of large visionary projects that are game-changers in the world of architecture and design.  I am extremely proud of what we've accomplished here."

CityCenter is home to the ARIA Resort & Casino, Mandarin Oriental, Crystals retail and entertainment district, Vdara Hotel & Spa, The Harmon hotel and residential Veer Towers.  

The project also contains extensive public art installations.  To tackle the technical innovations, vast scope, and complexities of the project designed under the aegis of MGM Mirage, Tishman assigned 150 professionals, among them construction managers, architects, engineers, estimators, schedulers, cost control specialists, project controls specialists, global procurement professionals, superintendents and LEED specialists, to manage and coordinate work on the 67-acre site. 

Tishman Construction closely collaborated with Executive Architect Gensler and with the world-renowned architects and their teams on individual buildings.  Tishman also worked closely with General Contractor Perini.

"A key part of our working relationship with MGM MIRAGE and Dubai World on the CityCenter project was our ability to comprehend the scope of the development.  We understood their design and construction complexities, budgeting processes, quality expectations, and reporting methods," said Daniel P. McQuade, President of Tishman Construction Corporation of Nevada. 

"Working closely with our clients, we built an enormous level of comfort and trust for our clients, by bringing on the most talented people in our industry."

Additionally, in 2008, MGM MIRAGE and Tishman Construction agreed to expand Tishman's role by serving as general contractor for interior fit-outs for the residences at Mandarin Oriental, Veer Towers, and Sky Suites at ARIA.

"Our imaginative solutions to the challenges that arose at CityCenter truly demonstrate our analytical ability and how uniquely qualified Tishman is to work on complex projects," said Jim Scarpace, TCC Executive Vice President and Corporate Executive for CityCenter.  "MGM MIRAGE worked with brilliant and forward-thinking architects, engineers, interior designers, and artists on CityCenter. It was our job to execute MGM MIRAGE's visions and make it a reality. I'm delighted with the technical expertise and ability our team brought to this mega-project"

An area of importance to the owners of CityCenter was their goal of achieving high levels of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the project, as specified by U.S. Green Building Council. 

All design, development, and construction companies involved operated under the owners' mandate of overall sustainability with one goal in mind:  to create a destination that is not only built in an environmentally sustainable manner, but also operates every day with an equal commitment to conserving natural resources.

The amount of energy saved by the efficient design of CityCenter is equal to the average annual power use of 8,800 homes.  LEED Gold certifications have already been achieved by six buildings at CityCenter.  

Steps taken to create the most sustainable buildings of this era include:

• Complex window glazing, building shades, and light-colored rooftops reflect and deflect intense desert sunlight before it can enter buildings at CityCenter, dramatically reducing the amount of energy required to cool indoor spaces;

• During construction, developers selected paints, sealants, adhesives, carpet and composite wood products that do not contain toxic substances that can later be released into the air  Similar non-toxic products are used for touch-ups and renovations;

• The CityCenter team developed a strict construction waste management plan at the outset of the project to redirect recyclable and reusable resources back into the manufacturing process.  More than 94% of construction debris at CityCenter has been diverted from landfills and more than 50% of the wood used in ARIA and Crystals is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

• Advanced project management systems allowed Tishman to trace, record, date stamp and electronically sign and store all matters concerning budgeting and estimating; design development and management; value engineering; procurement; change management and cost control; scheduling; cash-flow management; field reporting; quality management and commissioning; and close-out management.

"A project of this scope needs robust cost reporting capabilities and clear definitions of responsibilities," said Mark Bodner, First Vice President of Tishman Construction. "Responsibilities must be detailed, processes must be transparent and workflows must be consistent. Tishman Construction met these demands with the seamless coordination of thousands of participants and workers--many with different project management styles."

The Tishman procurement team created umbrella agreements that allowed local subcontractors to purchase materials directly from manufacturers around the globe at a pre-approved, pre-negotiated, point-of-purchase prices, allowing the owner to leverage massive buying power of the project and resulting in substantial savings.  This model proved to be highly effective, especially in the areas of copper tubing, stainless steel pipe, lighting fixtures, wood millwork, curtain wall, conduit, carpet, stone, tile, glass, and doors.

Today CityCenter will hold a grand opening event for its Aria Resort and Casino, signifying the grand opening of the entire CityCenter project. Jim Murren, Chairman and CEO of MGM MIRAGE, Bobby Baldwin, President and CEO of CityCenter, and Bill Grounds of Infinity World Development Corp are expected to give opening comments at this gala event.

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