New $70.4 Million UNLV Project Breaks Ground

Sletten Construction of Nevada, Inc. has begun construction of the new UNLV Science & Engineering building designed by Dekker, Perich, Sabatini Architects. The building is being constructed on the Maryland Parkway Campus. The $70.4 million project will consist of a new four-story structure with 190,000 sq. ft. of lecture and laboratory facilities. The building will be LEED-certified and be interconnected with the university campus communication systems. The construction will be completed in the Fall of 2007.

Sletten has also begun the new Clark County School District High School, designed by Swisher & Hall AIA. The $65.75 million vocational high school project will also be LEED-certified. The 213,000-sq.-ft. school will house 2,010 students and include a banquet hall, daycare center facility, video production studio and digital photo laboratory. The project is to be completed in spring of 2007.

Work Commences on 50-Story Planet Hollywood

Westgate Resorts and Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino have broken ground on a 50-story luxury vacation ownership and condominium tower complex on the Las Vegas Strip.

The $750 million development will include more than 1,200 units, ranging in size from one to four bedrooms, increasing the hotel room inventory for the resort by 2,800 rooms. The top four stories of the Towers will be comprised of 28 luxury condominiums ranging in size from 4,000 to 10,000-sq.-ft.

The project was designed by Morris Architects. Overseeing the construction is Bovis Lend Lease Americas.

Other unique features of the Planet Hollywood Towers by Westgate include a 14,000-sq.-ft. lobby and check-in area, 35,000 sq. ft. of meeting and convention space, 16,000 sq. ft. of eclectic dining, a fitness center and sales area. Outside amenities include a 40,000-sq.-ft. elevated outdoor recreational pool area on the second level and an exclusive 46th floor penthouse pool.

Castaways Brought Down in 18 Seconds

The Las Vegas skyline was altered in an instant last month as 195 pounds of explosives placed in 191 locations on the building's ground, second, sixth and 10th floors, reduced the venerable Castaways Hotel Casino to rubble in seconds.

Strategically placed linear charges were utilized throughout the main hotel building to bring the hotel tower down upon itself with a minimum of dust and traffic disruption.

"Safety is always first and foremost on any demolition job," said Randi Graber, director of business development with LVI Environmental of Nevada. "The implosion went flawlessly. Streets were reopened 30 minutes ahead of schedule, and there was no reported collateral property damage."

The implosion was the culmination of a months-long project undertaken by LVI at the behest of general contractor Martin-Harris Construction. In the six months leading up to the implosion, LVI demolished a total of more than 800,000-sq.-ft., including the 447-room, 19-story hotel. The company crushed and recycled on site more than 34,000 tons of concrete. The implosion, which was completed in a mere 18 seconds, is the first to be conducted within the Las Vegas city limits. The Castaways, formerly known as the Showboat is located at Boulder Highway and Fremont St.

"This was a bit more challenging because it was an all-steel-frame structure," said Mark Loizeaux, president of implosion contractor CDI of Baltimore, Md.

Houses of 1950s vintage near the property also presented a challenge and necessitated the use of less than 200 pounds of explosives. The implosion and LVI's removal of a parking garage, low-rise motel units and the casino will leave the site vacant for now, after LVI completes the two-month removal of the structures' carcass.

Station Casinos purchased the bankrupt Castaways in 2004 for $34 million; plans for the site remain unclear.