June 10th, 2008 in Destinations and Tourism • Featured

Las Vegas moving towards Green with new CityCenter

The tourist city of Las Vegas, known across the globe as the infamous “Sin City”, is stepping up efforts in the “green” development arena with the planning of its new 18 million square foot “CityCenter”.

The tourist city of Las Vegas, known across the globe as the infamous “Sin City”, is stepping up efforts in the “green” development arena with the planning of its new 18 million square foot “CityCenter”, the largest privately financed development in the history of North America aiming for LEED certification - the new construction will be bigger than all current LEED certified buildings combined.

Nestled between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts, the center’s first building, Aria, is scheduled to open at the end of 2009. The entire project is costing an estimated $8 billion, and under ownership of MGM MIRAGE and Dubai World, it is being designed by renowned “green” architects Pelli Clarke Pelli, Foster + Partners, and Rafael Vinoly. The developers are being consulted by hundreds of sustainability consultants, and the tradesmen carrying out construction are educated in green building practices.

CityCenter is making some giant strides toward establishing itself as a “model of sustainability”. Recycling construction waste, using eco-friendly materials, boosting natural lighting, and incorporating an onsite co-generation power plant are just a few of the ways that the project is earning its eco-credentials. Materials from the imploded Boardwalk Hotel (cleared for the site of CityCenter) are being recycled into the project, crushed to be recycled into material going into the project, and bathroom fixtures are being shipped to other countries wrapped in the old drapes and carpeting from the original hotel to be used again.

Additional efforts were undertaken to improve even the smallest details, such as the custom design of low-flow water features that will save an estimated 76 million gallons of water daily when CityCenter is completed and occupied. The finished CityCenter will include a resort casino, two non-gaming resort hotels, a 500,000 square foot retail and entertainment district and will also feature a $40 million public fine art program.

For more information, visit www.citycenter.com.