Demolition

The hotel Riviera in Last Vegas will be demolished in two parts because of its large size, a report from VegasInc says. One tower will be imploded in June, and the other in August.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority made the decision during a March 29 meeting where they also considered an approval of $42 million for the contractor.

Terry Jicinsky, the authority’s senior vice president of operations, told VegasInc after the meeting that separate implosions are required because of the expansive layout of the Riviera, a large hotel with separate towers. He said it wouldn’t be safe to demolish both towers simultaneously.

Aside from the hotel towers, the rest of the Riviera structures will come down even before the first implosion. Crews will start by demolishing the low-rise buildings such as parking garages and the hotel’s convention center.

The committee recommended approving the demolition contract for WA Richardson Builders LLC, whose $42 million bid was the lowest of four competitive bids submitted for the work.

The total budget for the demolition phase of the project is estimated at $5 million more than initially expected because of asbestos found in the outside stucco of the Monte Carlo tower.

The authority bought the Riviera for $182.5 million in February 2015, and the hotel closed that May.

The authority is interested in using the site for an expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Before the expansion begins, the Riviera site will first be used for outdoor exhibit space and parking during ConExpo-Con/Agg, March 7-11, 2017.

A new demolition firm has been hired to complete the work at the former Verso Paper mill in Bucksport, Maine, after crews walked off the job in mid-March.

A report in the Bangor Daily News says according to the city’s interim town manager, Susan Lessard, DeNovo Constructors, failed to pay subcontractors for work.

The Chicago-based firm was hired by AIM Development to demolish and remove portions of the mill building from the 250-acre property.

AIM Development, a subsidiary of Montreal-based American Iron and Metal, acquired the former paper mill after Verso decided to shut the facility at the end of 2014.

The town of Bucksport reportedly set a 12- to 14-month to completion timeline in the demolition permit that it issued to AIM last fall.

In April, AIM had reportedly hired Independence Excavating, Independence, Ohio, to finish the work.