Affirming its commitment to bring a new level of environmental consciousness to the Las Vegas Strip, CityCenter has earned its fifth and sixth LEED®+ Gold ratings from the U.S. Green Building Council with the certification of Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas and Veer Towers. The accomplishment completes the certification process for all CityCenter components opening this December, and marks the highest LEED achievement by any hotel, retail district or residential development in Las Vegas. The 18-million-square-foot metropolis is one of the world's largest sustainable communities.
"From its inception to design, development and construction, we had one single goal in mind for CityCenter: 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," said Bobby Baldwin, president and CEO, CityCenter. "As we approach CityCenter's opening next month, now with six LEED Gold recognitions, we're very close to sharing with the world a remarkable demonstration that a community can be both beautiful and sustainable."
Due to its size and purchasing power, CityCenter is driving green economies of scale in multiple industry segments, paving the way for other entities to build and operate sustainably. The Forest Stewardship Council-US (FSC-US®) recently honored CityCenter as the best commercial project of 2009 in the fifth annual Designing & Building with FSC Awards. CityCenter's dedication to the use of sustainably harvested FSC-certified wood products is unprecedented in scale and resulted in a significant market transformation, including multiple wood suppliers receiving their FSC chain of custody certification to supply wood to the development. CityCenter has moved beyond existing green practices to empower industry-wide innovations. Sustainable highlights:
-- First energy-generation on The Strip through its 8.5 megawatt
natural-gas co-generation plant, providing efficient electricity on
site, reducing emissions and using "waste heat" to provide domestic
hot water
-- World's first fleet of stretch limos powered by clean-burning
compressed natural gas (CNG)
-- Water conservation technology and programs that will save between 30%
and 43% of water within the buildings and 60% in outdoor landscaping,
for an overall savings of approximately 50 million gallons annually
-- Energy-efficiency initiatives providing a savings equivalent to
powering 8,800 households annually
-- Development of slot machine bases that serve as floor air-conditioning
units, efficiently cooling guests from the ground up, rather than
wasting energy on empty space by cooling from the ceiling
-- Creation of a large-scale recycling operation that enabled the
recycling or reuse of more than 260,000 tons of construction waste,
more than 80% of the imploded Boardwalk Hotel
-- Collaborating with the nation's foremost sustainability and LEED
consultants, CityCenter has introduced more than 10,000 construction
trade and craftsmen to green building techniques that can be
implemented at future developments
-- More information on CityCenter's Green initiatives can be found at:
http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/mgm/39529/
S. Richard Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chair, USGBC, said, "From its intense focus on water conservation to the multiple strategies for energy efficiency, the CityCenter team has delivered several exceptional properties that qualify for the LEED Gold rating. Extreme climates challenge the most creative of project teams, and the CityCenter team has risen to the occasion and then some. We congratulate them on their significant achievement."
Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas is the first hotel in the prestigious Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group to receive a LEED rating. A sophisticated sanctuary of modern elegance, Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas will feature 392 rooms and suites and 225 residences. Opening December 4, 2009, the 47-story, non-gaming hotel and residences bring the legendary service of the renowned hotel group to Las Vegas for the first time.
Veer Towers, CityCenter's only purely residential development, is a masterful translation of energy and excitement into physical form; its two 37-story glass towers shimmer day and night. Inclined at five-degree angles - a feature celebrated by the development's name - the towers seem to dance with each other. Designed by famed architect Helmut Jahn, each tower will house approximately 335 modern condominium residences. Residential occupancies are slated to begin mid-January 2010.
Tony Dennis, executive vice president, CityCenter Residential Division, said "The LEED Gold certifications of CityCenter's residential buildings are a brilliant example of sustainable development. In satisfying the growing demand for smart and environmentally responsible living, CityCenter's green commitment is a meaningful point of pride for our homeowners and an element of value that is as important as our quality and service."
CityCenter's LEED certification effort was led by MGM MIRAGE's Energy and Environmental Services Division along with a recognized group of sustainability consultants including CTG Energetics, Green Building Services, Viridian Energy & Environmental and Fore Solutions and Simon & Associates. CityCenter's previous LEED Gold awards include ARIA Resort's hotel tower, ARIA's convention center and theater, Vdara Hotel & Spa and Crystals.
About CityCenter
CityCenter is an unprecedented urban metropolis opening in December 2009 on 67 acres between Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. CityCenter is a joint venture between MGM MIRAGE (NYSE: MGM) and Infinity World Development Corp, a subsidiary of Dubai World. CityCenter features ARIA, a 61-story, 4,004-room gaming resort; luxury non-gaming hotels including Las Vegas' first Mandarin Oriental and Vdara Hotel & Spa; Veer Towers, the development's only strictly residential buildings; and Crystals, a 500,000-square-foot retail and entertainment district. Vdara, Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas and Veer Towers boast approximately 2,400 residences total. Additionally, The Harmon, a 400-room luxury boutique hotel, is slated to open at CityCenter in late 2010. CityCenter also will feature Viva ELVIS™ by Cirque du Soleil® celebrating the timeless musical legacy of Elvis Presley; and an unparalleled Fine Art Collection with works by acclaimed artists including Maya Lin, Jenny Holzer, Nancy Rubins, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, among others. CityCenter is a design collaboration between MGM MIRAGE and eight internationally acclaimed architectural firms including Pelli Clarke Pelli, Kohn Pedersen Fox, Helmut Jahn, RV Architecture LLC led by Rafael Vinoly, Foster + Partners*, Studio Daniel Libeskind*, David Rockwell and Rockwell Group, and Gensler. At the forefront of sustainability, the 18-million-square-foot metropolis is one of the world's largest green communities. CityCenter has earned LEED® Gold certification for ARIA, Vdara, Crystals, Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas and Veer Towers, marking the highest LEED achievement by any hotel, retail district or residential development in Las Vegas. The Harmon also is pursuing LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
For more information about CityCenter, please visit www.citycenter.com.
+ The LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings. The 'LEED Certification Mark' is a registered trademark owned by the U.S. Green Building Council and is used by permission.
* As a consultant to AAI Architects, Inc.
First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: NMounier@kirvindoak.com
http://www.citycenter.com/
SOURCE: MGM MIRAGE
CONTACT: Natalie Mounier of Kirvin Doak Communications, +1-702-737-3100,
nmounier@kirvindoak.com, for MGM MIRAGE
Web Site: http://www.mgmmirage.com/