On Wednesday, The PENTA Building Group broke ground on the North Las Vegas Readiness Center.  The new facility will be built on a 78-acre site and will be home for several Nevada Guard units. The 68,420-square-foot facility will include classrooms, conference rooms, an assembly hall, learning center, library and a physical fitness area.

We are happy to announce that the Harmon Corner exterior shell is complete. As the general contractor,

PENTA constructed the core and shell, pedestrian bridge, Walgreens, and several tenant improvements.

PENTA was named in a recent article about the renovation of the Sahara hotel and casino. The Sahara closed in May after 59 years on the Strip. SBE officials said at the time it was “no longer economically viable” to operate the 1,720-room hotel-casino. The hotel will be limited to 1,600 rooms and other “elements” will be added including two night clubs and upscale dining venues.

Read the Review Journal article here.

Congratulations to all our team members who were recently promoted: Joel Wallis to Vice President of Operations, Glen Maxwell to Vice President of Preconstruction, and Chris Pierce to Assistant Project Manager.

Joel Wallis,

Joel will be responsible for ensuring the successful management of all PENTA construction projects company-wide.  He has over 20 years of experience, having worked most recently as PENTA’s Southern California Area Manager.  Joel joined PENTA in 2002 and has a degree in Construction Management from Chico State University.

Glen Maxwell, Vice President of Preconstruction

As Vice President of Preconstruction, Glen  will be responsible for the direction and oversight of PENTA’s Preconstruction and Estimating Department and the acquisition of new work to maintain and support the financial and growth objectives of the company.  He has over 20 years experience in the construction industry and recently served as Director of Preconstruction.  Glen has a Masters in Civil Engineering from UNLV.

Chris Pierce, Assistant Project Manager

Chris Pierce was promoted to Assistant Project Manager. He joined PENTA in January, 2007 as a Project Engineer in Las Vegas and has been a key player in the success of several large projects over the last four years such as Aliante Station Casino + Hotel and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Headquarters.  Chris has a degree in Construction Management from Kansas State University.

Photo by Phillip Prowse, Courtesy of ENR Southwest

We are excited to announce PENTA received Southwest ENR’s Best Projects 2011 Multi-Family Residential/Hospitality Unit Award of Merit for our work on Harrah’s Ak-Chin Hotel Expansion in Arizona.

The Ak-Chin was a big expansion project for us. We doubled the amount of rooms available and added an 88,000 square-foot lobby. Southwest ENR highlighted some of the project’s outstanding features, including the building’s exterior design and facades.

Click here to read the full article on ENR Southwest.

The Clark County Commission approved permits for the renovation of the legendary Sahara Casino. The 59-year-old casino was shut down earlier this year and is scheduled to undergo a full renovation before reopening.

PENTA was hired in September to evaluate the options for the site. The new Sahara will feature a renovated casino floor and 1,622 hotel rooms. The hotels roller coaster will be replaced with an outdoor dining area and a 2,830-square-foot-beer garden.

To read more about the Sahara renovation click here.

Photo Credit: Opulence Studios

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in downtown Las Vegas has been completed. PENTA was the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) for the project. It is the first LVMPD headquarters to house several of its departments on one central property.

The 14-acre custom-built campus has three individual buildings, two four-story buildings and one five-story building. It features a multilevel parking garage with 2,100 spaces totaling approximately 400,000 square feet.

The project exemplified a true team effort. We worked with the developer, Mark L. Fine & Associates, and the Thomas & Mack, DLR Group and LVMPD teams very closely to ensure project’s needs where met.

After a 20 month-long process we are happy to have completed the project on time, within budget and without injuries.

We are happy to announce PENTA has been named general contractor for the Union Village medical complex in Henderson, Nev. Union Village is a 170-acre integrated health care and hospital complex. The site will feature residential, entertainment and specialty retail space. It will also boast a senior retirement community and cultural arts center.

PENTA will be building the long-term acute-care and nursing facility, retail core and shell, parking structures, site infrastructure and landscape. We believe our strong local presence with the subcontracting community and experience with large ground-up construction, challenging site logistics, and infrastructure coordination will add value to the project.

We are excited to be a part of Union Village and understand its importance and meaning to the Nevada community. Read more about the project here.

If you’ve driven down Las Vegas Blvd. recently you’ve noticed Harmon Corner looks a little different than it did when we gave you our first update on the project. Construction continues to run smoothly as we move from erecting the steel structure to working on the building’s outer shell and adjacent pedestrian bridge’s façade.  Here’s a quick update on our latest Harmon Corner news.

Harmon Corner Core & Shell

Construction on the Harmon Corner Retail Center continues to advance. PENTA began installing the exterior framing and glass curtain wall in September.  We have also completed all underground plumbing and electrical lines and are currently working on roofing and the exterior glazing of the building. We have completed coordination on the structural and electrical components of the 65-foot-tall-by-320-foot-long video billboard, and installation has begun.

Harmon Corner Pedestrian Bridge

Bridge façade work is ongoing with metal framing, glass guardrail and metal panel work.  The escalators were set at the Harley Davidson landing and stair installation will begin after the completion of the electrical room masonry.

We expect to have the core and shell as well as the pedestrian bridge completed by December 8^th. Make sure to visit our blog for more project updates.

One of PENTA’s new projects is the Comanche Red River Casino renovation, a Design Build project with JMA Architecture Studios, located in Devol, Oklahoma. The 7-month project consists of a complete indoor renovation including the food service areas, a new façade, complete new porte cochere, new carpet, paint, signage, slot machines and expanded slot floor space. It also includes the construction of Countryville, a high end country themed bar by Dick Clark productions, boasting Texas and Oklahoma flavors.

The project is on its third and final phase, and we are happy to report the renovation is scheduled to be completed on time. Demolition began in July, as well as the steel retrofit. Since then, grade beams were poured and steel erections were finished. Phase two was completed earlier this month.

PENTA also recently completed the remodeling of the Comanche Nation Casino Kitchen, which included the casino’s Mustang Café and the Comanche Grill. The month-long project was scheduled for completion by July 16, in time for the Comanche Nation Knockout UFC sponsored fighting event. PENTA also successfully completed demolition activities, MEP rough-in, the installation of kitchen equipment and a new modular bar as scheduled.