A crowd of city employees, dignitaries and hundreds of construction workers gathered on Friday, October 15 to witness the ‘topping off’ of the new Las Vegas City Hall, one of the many new buildings taking shape downtown.

The seven-story, 310,000-square-foot building has been under construction since early this year at 518 S. First St., two blocks south of the Golden Nugget Hotel-Casino.  It is expected to be finished in 2012.

The building is being built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) sustainability standards, which will reduce energy costs by more than $500,000 annually, a significant savings when compared to energy costs at the current City Hall that was completed more than 30 years ago in 1973.

The new City Hall is the anchor project of a five-block complex that includes new office and retail space and the Regional Transportation Commission’s recently completed Bonneville Transit Center. It is a key component of the Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency’s (RDA) broad initiative to revitalize the area, create an estimated 13,400 jobs, $4.1 billion in private investment and $16 to $20 million in new tax revenues. The developer is Forest City Enterprises and Live Work, LLC and the general contractor is Whiting-Turner. For more information, visit www.lasvegasnevada.gov/cityhall.

Photo: Construction crew and Mayor Oscar B. Goodman celebrate the new City Hall's "topping off"