MGM Mirage is progressing well with its massive Project CityCenter, a $5-billion, 66-acre development in the heart of Las Vegas.

The urban metropolis includes a 60-story, 4,000 room hotel-casino, 500,000 square feet of retail space, a second 400-room nongaming boutique hotel, and two 500-unit condominium high-rises. At 18 million square feet the project is the largest privately financed development in the country. The developer has enlisted a celebrity roster of architects—Rafael Viñoly, Lord Norman Foster, James KM Cheng, Cesar Pelli, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates—to design various parts of the complex.

PCA and Southern Nevada Concrete and Aggregates Association have been keeping close tabs on this and other key developments in Las Vegas. An in-house presentation was held at DeSimone Engineers' newly opened Las Vegas office to promote the efficient use of concrete framing systems. Each staff engineer received a copy of PCA Notes on ACI-318-05, as both the City of Las Vegas and Clark County are slated to adopt that version of the concrete code in the very near future.

Also discussed were several other major projects in development including the Montreaux (New Frontier), Paramount Towers, a new tower for Mandalay Bay, and a transportation terminal.
Contact Attila Beres

Board Restores Break-Even Dues Rate
PCA's Board of Directors conducted its Fall Meeting last week at Sea Island, Ga. Among significant Board actions:

Charlie Sunderland, Ash Grove, was elected chairman of the board. Enrique Escalante (GCC of America) will serve as vice chairman. (See below.)

The Board approved a dues rate of 15 cents per ton of cement in the U.S. and 7 cents in Canada. The new rate is geared to meet operating expenses. PCA had been operating at a planned deficit for the last two years to draw down excess financial reserves.

The Board passed a recommendation by the governance task force to reduce the size of the Executive Committee from 21 to eight members. Four of the eight directors will represent the largest member companies, and four will come from other companies. The chair and vice chair are included in the eight, but no company can have more than one director on the Committee.

The Board also approved changes to the cooperative agreement between PCA and the ten regional promotion groups.

PCA's Spring Meeting will be held in conjunction with the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association's annual meeting, March 18-20, San Diego, Calif.
Contact Jay Gleason

PCA President John P. Gleason, Jr. (pictured), announced that he will retire as president of PCA effective July 1, 2007. The PCA Board has retained the executive recruitment firm Korn/Ferry to find candidates for the position. Gleason has served as PCA president since 1986.

SCA schedules 2007 RCC Seminars: The Southeast Cement Association has scheduled two roller-compacted concrete seminars for 2007. “Roller-Compacted Concrete Design and Construction Seminar” will take place on May 25, 2007, in Nashville, Tenn. Additionally, the 4th Annual Roller-Compacted Concrete Design and Construction Seminar will be on November 8, 2007, in Atlanta, Ga.. The seminars are sponsored by PCA, the Southeast Cement Association, and the Southeast Chapter of the American Concrete Pavement Association.
More at www.secement.org

LA Cathedral Center Hosts Concrete Seminar: Seventy structural engineers attended “Emerging Trends in Concrete Construction” at the Conference Center of the Los Angeles Cathedral on October 28. Seminar topics included Seismic Design of ICF Structures, Precast Housing Solutions, Practical Implications of Tests at the Englekirk Center, and Contractors' Perspectives on Today's Concrete Construction. The event was a collaborative effort of PCA and its local affiliates as well as the Southern California Chapter of SEAOC.
Contact Attila Beres

Mota to Serve on CIB Board: Mike Mota, PCA’s northeast regional engineering manager, has been selected to serve on the Board of Directors for the Concrete Industry Board (CIB) of New York City. The CIB of New York is dedicated to promoting the use of quality concrete by providing educational programs, distributing industry information, and providing opportunities for its members to participate with others in the industry.
Contact Mike Mota

'Fortified' House Holds Open House: Dukane Precast hosted an open house at the first Fortified…for safer living® home in Illinois on Nov. 2. The Bolingbrook, Ill., home constructed by Dukane Precast, Inc., has added protection against tornadoes, hail, and severe winter weather—three of the state’s most destructive natural elements. In addition to presentations by sponsors, guests were able to tour the home and witness a wind cannon demonstration illustrating the strength of precast constructed walls. The sponsors of the open house included the Institute for Business & Home Safety, Illinois Emergency Management Agency, American Red Cross of Greater Chicago, City of Bolingbrook, AAA Chicago, PCA, and Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute.

• Highways 34 (41.98%)
• Water resources 18 (22.22%)
• Transit and rail 15 (18.52%)
• Rebuilding the gulf coast 14 (17.28%)

Notable comments:

"The need for stable water supplies will only continue to grow. A national grid network, like the power grid, to supply areas of need from areas of abundance should be in the planning stage and implemented as soon as possible."

"Water resources, as a whole, will affect all of our communities, and can extend into quality of life issues just as easily as national security. Our Congress needs to address the importance of water quality, quantity and smart usage, but each person also needs to support these issues by using water wisely. . . . Pervious pavement systems for groundwater recharge, recycled water use, and controlled or zero-discharge runoff are important factors that the cement and concrete industry can use to lead by example."

"Asphalt pricing dictates a thrust in paving. There is not likely to be another opportunity like this to compete on first cost."

"Lack of concern to help flooded families needs to be addressed. FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program needs to be investigated for their lack of concern in helping insured people from being hoodwinked by insurance companies."

Take this week's poll