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| By Libby John | |
| Friday, 01 June 2007 | |
 Media attention and pressure from a real estate millionaire will not impact Perini Building Co.’s plans to successfully complete a $366 million hotel and condominium complex. Meyer, with the Phoenix-based Perini Building Co., is responsible for the construction of the Trump Tower, a 1.5 million-square-foot complex with 1,282 condominium and hotel units. It will also feature a spa, salon, meeting rooms, snack bar, pool, Jacuzzis, lounge, restaurants, retail and 467-space parking garage. The hotel and condominium complex has two building elements: a base building, which will hold office space, lobby, a fine dining restaurant, parking garage, a convenience retail store, a pool snack bar and other amenities; and a 49-floor tower, for the hotel/condominium units. The project is the tallest concrete building Perini has ever done, Meyer says. The concrete structure for the seven-story low-rise is complete. The tower structure is scheduled to be completed in the first week of May, the tower’s gold tinted curtain wall skin is 90 percent complete and one-third of the hotel rooms are built out, he says. “The exterior of the tower is wrapped in gold-tinted curtain wall glass system and the low-rise is a combination of the gold-tinted glass, white stone and white metal panels,” Meyer says. “The Trump tower design is a very clean look, and the gold glass gives it the feel of luxury and elegance. Most of the other Las Vegas buildings are more ornate and try to convey a theme of some sort, but the clean look is becoming a trend in Las Vegas for new hotel and condo towers.” Project Details Perini self-performed the structural concrete scope of work and placed the tower concrete. The project used around 100,000 cubic yards of concrete for this project, Meyer says. The company used a concrete pumping system for the first time in lieu of using tower crane-hoisted concrete buckets, he adds. The company still needs to build out the rest of the hotel and condominium units and complete the low-rise finishes, finish the roof of the base building and tower and complete the exterior site work and landscaping, Meyer adds. “At peak, we had roughly 750 crafts-people work on the project,” all from local union halls, he says. A majority of the Perini staff lives in Nevada with only five staff members traveling from California and Arizona, where the company’s Western Division headquarters is located. He says the project has received a lot of media attention since it broke ground on August 2005. All of the condominium units were sold in just over four-and-a-half days for between $700,000 and $7 million each. The project was featured on an Apprentice episode in which contestants had to create a promotional campaign for the second tower of the project. The taping of the episode “shut us down for a half a day,” he says. Trump recently announced that a second tower will be built but no details have been released. The attention has not impacted the progress of the project, he says. In fact, it will be completed 30 days ahead of schedule. Taj Mahal Hotel Trump International Hotel and Tower is the second project Perini and Trump have worked on together. Perini also built Trump’s Taj Mahal Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., Meyer says. “Perini derives more than 90 percent of its business from repeat clients,” the company says. Niche Market Perini Building Co. is the largest builder of hospitality and gaming resorts in the nation, the company says. Its niche market is constructing fast-track, mega-hospitality and gaming projects. Professional services offered are construction management, general contracting, preconstruction, post construction and design/build. Perini is a wholly owned subsidiary of Perini Corp. and trades on the New York Stock Exchange. The company is currently experiencing record growth, with multimillion-dollar projects underway in Connecticut, Maryland, Arizona and Nevada. Major projects in progress include The Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino, Trump International Hotel and Tower Las Vegas, Foxwoods Expansion, Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, and CityCenter, the largest privately funded construction project in the country. Perini has built some of the most recognizable resort and gaming properties in the country, including Luxor Las Vegas; Paris Las Vegas; the Palace and Augustus Towers at Caesars Palace; The Colosseum; Mohegan Sun expansion; Palms Casino Resort; Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center; Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa; and The Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas. As a leader in the construction industry, Perini is also at the forefront of implementing diversity initiatives to help foster economic opportunities for minority, women and disadvantaged-owned businesses on its projects, the company says. “As construction manager or general contractor, we foster partnership, client advocacy, professional collaboration and diversity,” the company says. “We are recognized as the largest builder of hospitality and gaming projects in the U.S.” Company History Perini Building Co. was founded in 1894 and has grown from a family-owned civil works contractor to one of the nation’s largest, most versatile construction companies, the company says. “In the early days, agreements were sealed with a handshake,” it continues. “Today, the expression ‘his word was his bond’ remains a fundamental expectation of all Perini employees. “We believe that when relationships are built on trust, client satisfaction is assured and our reputation is strengthened,” it says. “Our philosophy, ‘Building Relationships on Trust,’ recognizes the importance of teamwork,” said President Craig Shaw in a statement. “It rewards dedication and honesty. It values integrity over expediency. It defines our people as construction professionals for whom nothing is more important than advocating the best interests of the project.” In 1974, the company acquired Mardian Construction Co., a Phoenix-Ariz.-based contractor. “Mardian was firmly established in the Southwest as one of the region's top contractors, and brought substantial resources and expertise to Perini's building operations,” the company says. “In 1992, Perini Building Co. Inc. was officially formed, consolidating all of the Perini-owned building companies into one entity to concentrate on delivering superior services to emerging niche markets.” The company offers preconstruction, design/build, construction and post-construction services, it says. Perini is consistently listed as one of the top-20 builders in the United States by Engineering News-Record and has become one of the nation’s best construction managers, subcontractors and design/builders, the company adds. ‘Giving Back’ The company’s “talented and enthusiastic employees” are an important part of the company, it says. The company “encourages teamwork and collaboration,” it continues. “We support and reward individual initiative and resourcefulness. We value problem solvers and effective communicators. “We acknowledge and celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of others – fellow employees as well as our project partners.” The company encourages its employees, as well as subcontractors and suppliers, to give back to the community in the way of money, materials and labor. “Giving back to the communities in which we work is a long-standing tradition with the company,” it says. Every year, the company hosts Perini Green Weekend, a golfing fundraiser to support local charities. In 2006, the event raised $60,000. “What started off as a small group of people playing a few rounds of golf for charity has turned into a weekend extravaganza,” the company says. “In the past three years, the event has expanded into a two-day event and includes a silent auction, golf tournament, 5K run and motorcycle/ classic car poker run,” it adds. |
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