LAS VEGAS (CN) - A judge approved demolition of the incomplete, 26-story Harmon Hotel inside the $8.5 billion CityCenter project, after flaws in steel reinforcements of the building's lower floors were found.
The project's general contractor, Tutor Perini Corp., said it will appeal Clark County Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez's Thursday ruling.
Tutor Perini claims that razing the tower will prevent a jury from seeing the flawed construction when its multimillion-dollar construction defect case goes to court next summer.
But Judge Gonzalez said the CityCenter's developer and half-owner, MGM Resorts International, could proceed with what she considered a business matter.
The elliptical building was supposed to have been 49 stories tall, and one of a cluster in the CityCenter project on the Las Vegas Strip, but the tower was cut short in 2008 after county inspectors said they found improper installation of rebar throughout the hotel.
An MGM spokesman said it will cost $30 million to demolish the building, which cost $275 million to build.
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