Judge gives go ahead for demolition of defect-ridden Las Vegas tower.
A Nevada state judge gave the go-ahead Thursday for casino giant MGM Resorts International to implode a flawed hotel tower that was partially built but never opened as the centerpiece of the glittering $8.5 billion CityCenter project on the Las Vegas Strip.
Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez’s pretrial ruling sounded a death knell for the 26-story Harmon Hotel before trial next year in a massive construction defect case involving project general contractor Tutor Perini Corp. and resort owner MGM Resorts.
But it doesn’t mean immediate demolition.
Attorney George Ogilvie, representing Perini, said outside court that he’ll appeal to the state Supreme Court. Ogilvie argued that demolishing the tower will forever prevent a civil court jury expected to hear a nearly $500 million construction defect case next summer from viewing work that was completed. Ogilvie also said it would leave the impression that the building was demolished because it was unsafe.
“Allowing MGM to demolish that building is allowing MGM to bury its mistakes,” he said.
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