Sizing Up Las Vegas
Palazzo Takes Shape on the Strip

by Tony Illia

The Palazzo, a massive $1.8 billion, 3,042-room hotel-casino, will be located at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sands Avenue, across from the Wynn Las Vegas.

"The Palazzo won't have a recognizable theme like the Venetian, but instead will be an upscale design reminiscent of Bel Air, Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills," said Ron Reese, a Las Vegas Sands spokesman. "It will be taller than the Wynn Resort with a sleeker profile that will change the Las Vegas skyline."

The 50-story Palazzo will be three times larger than the Empire State Building. Taylor International Corp., Las Vegas, is the general contractor.

The Palazzo, which broke ground in August 2004, is currently scheduled to finish in the third quarter of 2007.

The project is on an 8-acre parcel, and to maximize the real estate, the owners decided to build a four-level, 4,000-space underground garage. There is another below-grade level for back-of-house services.

Designed by HKS Architects Inc. of Dallas, with Walter P. Moore of Houston as structural engineer, the Palazzo plan utilizes every square inch available. The project, as a result, has required a whopping 1.2 million cu. yds. of excavation. Granite Construction Co. of Watsonville, Calif., is the earthwork subcontractor.

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"We dug down 60 ft. for the parking garage," said Don Sawyer, Granite's project manager. "It took 114,285 trucks trips over 16 months to remove all the dirt."

There were up to 600 truck trips a day, running double shifts, six days a week, Sawyer added. The firm created a 390-ft.-long, 18-degree earthen service ramp at Sands Avenue just for truck traffic. Granite also used 10 pumps with a combined 40,000-gallon-a-day capacity to dewater the site.

The steel-framed high-rise rests atop a foundation of 747 drilled piers that run 60 to 120 ft. deep and 4 to 8 ft. in diameter. The underground garage uses an 80-ft.-deep secant pile retaining wall system with four layers of tiebacks. Malcolm Drilling Co. Inc. of San Francisco was the drilling subcontractor.

The 645-ft.-tall hotel tower is a steel-framed, glass and EIFS structure with slab on metal-deck flooring. The building uses massive I-beam structural members, bolted and welded together, with concrete-filled box girders in place of shear walls, with the exception of elevator shafts and stairwells.

"The Palazzo will use 70,000 tons of steel, making it [one of] the largest steel jobs in North America," said Jim Mason, Taylor's project executive. "Steel was lighter than concrete, and the soil conditions dictated that we use a lighter product."

Schuff International of Phoenix is the steel supplier, fabricator and erector. Las Vegas-based Century Steel Inc. is providing the reinforcing rebar. Project officials purchased well in advance to lock in spiraling steel prices, but site constraints left little room for onsite storage and staging.

Taylor has had to plan and coordinate building material deliveries one day at a time.

"It has been a logistical nightmare," Mason said. "Everyone has to be dialed into the schedule."

Palazzo subs and suppliers all have offsite assembly and storage facilities to service the project.

Still, the project is progressing at a rate of one floor per week and pouring 30,000 sq. ft. of concrete a day. Nevada Ready Mix Inc. is the concrete supplier, with Isaac Construction Co. Inc. as contractor, both of Las Vegas.

The owner purchased three 30,000-lb.-capacity hammerhead tower cranes specifically for the job to help fast-track work progress. And there are another five mobile cranes available through Dielco Crane Service of Las Vegas.

The project will see nearly 2,000 tradespeople during the peak of construction activity, with over 100 suppliers and subcontractors.

Like the Venetian, the Palazzo will have all suite hotel rooms. Standard suites will range from 655 sq. ft. to 735 sq. ft. in size, with sunken living rooms as well as fax/printers, pull-out sofas, writing desks and dual-line speaker phones.

The new resort additionally features luxury villas with three and four bedrooms, media rooms, private pools and Jacuzzis, spas, personal gyms and massage areas.

The hotel tower is bordered by a four-level, 1-million-sq.-ft. low-rise with setbacks from Las Vegas Boulevard. There will be a 105,000-sq.-ft. casino with 80 table games and 1,900 slot machines on the ground level. It will also house a 450,000-sq.-ft. mall consisting of a 2,000-seat theater, seven new restaurants and 80 retail stores, including an 85,000-sq.-ft. Barneys New York.

"[This] will represent the first fashion specialty store of significant size and scope within a Las Vegas resort," said Howard Socol, chairman and CEO of Barneys. "We have been exploring the possibility of expansion into the Las Vegas market for some time."

The low-rise additionally will contain 450,000 sq. ft. of meeting and convention space, with a 72,000-sq.-ft. ballroom. An outdoor pool and recreation deck will sit 100 ft. above Las Vegas Boulevard. The Palazzo will contain a total of 45 pools, fountains and water features.

The new resort connects with its neighbor, the Venetian, at the pool deck, shop level and casino to create a seamless transition between the two properties. Guests of each hotel can use the facilities and amenities of the other.

The Palazzo, like the Venetian, will have several old world architectural features that include antique mirrors, natural woods and stone. In addition, it will have six skylights and four 80-ft. glass domes with wrought iron detailing. The opulent finishes and elegant touches are geared toward attracting high-end visitors.

"The Palazzo's attention to details will create a unique presence on the Strip," Reese said. "And when combined with the Venetian, it will give us over 7,000 rooms on the Strip."

 

Key Players
Owner:	Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Architect:	HKS Architects Inc.
General Contractor:	Walter P. Moore
Project Manager:	Taylor International Corp.
Electrical:	Mojave Electric
Mechanical:	Hansen Mechanical Contractors, Inc.
Steel:	Schuff International; Century Steel
Earthwork:	Granite Construction Co.