The gorgeous blue-glass building situated front and center at MGM's CityCenter has an unfortunate past and an uncertain future.
The Harmon was originally planned to be 47 stories, with 400 boutique hotel rooms, 207 upper-floor condos, and a Mr. Chow's (which serves "high Chinese cuisine" in restaurants in Beverly Hills, Manhattan, South Beach, and London).
Two years into construction, in July 2008, a number of defects were discovered, mostly involving the improper placement of concrete-reinforcing rebar. Construction was immediately suspended while remediation efforts were undertaken; investigations began and recriminations started to fly.
It turned out that the Harmon's third-party inspectors, from southern California firm Converse Consultants, had doctored more than five dozen daily reports about the efficacy of the building.
In early 2009, MGM Mirage announced that the Harmon had been drastically scaled back, to 26 stories and no condo units (less than 100 of the 207 units had been sold). The general contractor, Perini Inc., and its steel subcontractor spent $10 million trying to fix the problems. In March 2009, MGM Mirage fired Perini and construction stopped.
In the meantime, Converse Consultants had its business license suspended and its inspectors' personal licenses were revoked. Perini sued its steel subcontractor, which was also fined by the Nevada Contractor's Board. MGM stopped paying Perini, owing the contractor nearly $500 million. Perini sued MGM and hit CityCenter with a mechanic's lien. MGM countersued.
And the Harmon? It joined, and remains among, the ranks of the Fontainebleau, Echelon Place, Octavius Tower at Caesars, St. Regis Residences at the Venetian, and the Desert Blue timeshare tower as "postponed indefinitely."
