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Construction
ConnectioN Magazine
PCL
wins convention center expansion job
By Scott Smith
 In
a bid that "thrilled" Tom Smith, Las Vegas Convention and
Visitors Authority vice president of facilities, PCL Construction
will serve as general contractor for an ambitious Las Vegas
Convention Center expansion. "We put $125 million on the street
and (the bid) came in substantially under projections. We're
pretty happy with that," Smith said.
PCL's
bid of just under $113 million for the 1.3 million square-foot
expansion came in 9.6 percent under the LVCVA's estimate.
After analyzing the bids, the LVCVA awarded the contract to
PCL at its Marc h 14 meeting of the board of directors. Following
that meeting, a notice to proceed was expected by March 24,
with groundbreaking early this month. "We have a pressing
need for more space," said Rob Powers, public relations director
for LVCVA. "A significant number of our larger customers,
MAGIC (Men's Apparel Guild in California), Comdex and the
Consumer Electronics Show have expressed the need for more
space. It isn't unusual for us to set up temporary exhibit
space in our parking lot to accommodate the larger events
and conventions."
Smith
said the expansion, part of a 15-year master plan the LVCVA
adopted in 1993, meets the twin goals of increasing visitors
to Las Vegas and boosting convention attendance. Convention
attendance grew 14 percent in 1999, to 3.8 million. "Temporary
facilities are not a long-term solution," he said. "This expansion
will help us meet a new reality, solidify our current market
base and allow us to build for the future."
The
convention center last expanded in 1998, a project that brought
exhibit space to more than a million square feet and total
area, including exhibit space, meeting rooms, shops and warehouse
areas to 1.9 million square feet.
Powers
said that expansion was designed to keep pace with the growing
number of hotel rooms in Las Vegas. "That plan projected fewer
rooms in 2000 than we have right now, so we're actually behind
a little bit in matching exhibit space to existing hotel rooms,"
he said. "Many of the other convention cities, such as Orlando
and Chicago and others have undertaken very ambitious expansion
plans. The competition is very aggressive." Despite being
the largest single-level convention facility in the country,
bringing in $4.3 billion in non-gaming revenues in 1998, the
center's next expansion will allow the convention center to
meet a new mandate, Powers said.
PCL
Construction Services, Inc. will construct the two-story,
1.3 million square-foot Las Vegas Convention Center expansion.
The expansion, sited between Paradise Road and Swenson Street
(at bottom of photo) will include a walkway across Desert
Inn Road, connecting to the existing LVCC (at top right).
The convention center's services and past performance has
placed it ahead of the competition, but the future will be
more competitive than ever, he said. It's the center's goal
to "evolve in order to maintain and enhance its competitive
position, to play an even more vital role in the future growth
of the Las Vegas visitor market." The LVCVA board of directors
unanimously approved PCL's bid, despite several protests.
One
board member sought clarification of a 5-percent contingency
fund for construction cost overrides and a 10-percent allowed
increase for line items. In addition, a drywall company asserted
PCL's bid should have been voided because one of the contractor's
subcontractors allegedly is not licensed to perform the job.
Las Vegas Sands, Inc. also has filed suit over the $150 million
in revenue bonds the LVCVA floated to pay for the project.
A lawyer for Las Vegas Sands, the Venetian's parent company,
said his company does not oppose the convention center expansion,
but feels the funding procedure was not conducted properly.
PCL, the primary contractor for the recently completed Thomas
& Mack Center expansion, boasts a long list of Las Vegas construction
projects, including expansion of the Texas Station casino
and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The company has handled
other large-scale projects as well. PCL also was the lead
contractor for the Staples Center, home to the Los Angeles
Lakers, Clippers and Kings, as well as convention center expansions
in Long Beach, Calif. and Hawaii. The convention center project
is set to occupy the vacant land south of Desert Inn Road,
between paradise Road and Swenson Street, near the existing
convention center building.
PCL
bid $97,379,000 for the new building and $15,590,000 for a
span over Desert Inn Road to connect the new construction
project with the existing structure, for a total of $112,969,000.
The two-story building - the first multi-story convention
center to be constructed with public money - will break ground
in April. The LVCVA hopes to have construction completed by
the third quarter of 2001, in time for the convention center's
hosting of the Winter Consumer Electronics Show early in 2002.
The LVCVA already has sold $150 million in revenue bonds to
finance the design and construction of the facility.
Andy
Curd, regional vice president of PCL said the company uses
union labor and expects to employ some 400 workers, including
300 subcontractors, at the peak of the convention center expansion
construction. "The convention center expansion has huge volume,"
he said. "Building a portion over the street is always a challenge,
but we have a good set of documents to work from." PCL, based
in Edmonton, Alberta, houses its U.S. headquarters in Denver.
The regional office in Glendale, Calif. will oversee the convention
center project, along with the Las Vegas office, which is
staffed by 10 employees.
The
Glendale regional office handles about $250 million worth
of construction projects each year, a significant portion
of the company's $900 million in U.S. business and $2.6 billion
in worldwide work.
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