Last week, the green light was given to implode Foster + Partners’ never-finished Harmon Hotel for MGM Resorts in Las Vegas; a 670,000 sq ft hotel block whose shell has sat uninhabited since 2009.

Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez gave permission to implode the building recently after claims from CityCenter that the Harmon Hotel was structurally unstable and could collapse in an earthquake. General contractor Perini Building Co. has pledged that the building is stable and that repairs costing $20m should be carried out.

The legal battle continues as claims that MGM Resorts ‘skewed test results to highlight defects’ are analysed. The Las Vegas Review Journal reported that: “To date, MGM Resorts has tested 397 structural elements in the never-finished 26-storey building, just over one-fourth of the total. It reports finding defects in more than 90% of the pieces, such as shear walls and elevator lobby slabs.”

Click here to view a previous WAN article on the topic.