MGM Mirage is building a 76 acre site between the Bellagio and the Monte Carlo called CityCenter. With 18 million square feet (residential, hotel, resort, casino, etc.), CityCenter is quickly becoming know as the “city-within-a-city.” Las Vegas is one of the leading cities for incorporating green technology in the U.S. The project will be completed in concordance with LEED, (leaders in energy and environmental design), and the Green Building Council, which will give City Center, (when completed), the title as the largest LEED enterprise in the world. MGM has hired the world’s best architects for this huge undertaking. The developers have employed hundreds of sustainability consultants to bring a “whole system” technique to the project, and the tradesmen doing the construction are educated in green building practices.

Some of the eco design advantages include redirecting over 80% of construction waste through re-use and recycling, having improved indoor air quality by using low-VOC and non-toxic materials, using eco-friendly materials, natural lighting, and incorporating an onsite co-generation power plant. These are a few of the ways the project is earning its sustainable credits!

The CityCenter is scheduled for completion in November 2009. The mini city will include a resort casino, its own fire station, an on-site power plant, two non-gaming resort hotels, a 500,000 square foot retail and entertainment district, plus a $40 million dollar public fine arts program, just to name a few of the highlights. Sounds good to me!

http://www.citycenter.com