Las Vegas was a whistle stop on the Union Pacific railway for more than a century at the site just west of downtown Las Vegas. Plans for development, or redevelopment, of this historic area of downtown came and went until The Smith Center debuted in 2012. With the opening of the performing arts center, Symphony Park became a reality and with it, the redevelopment of the former Union Pacific site began in earnest.
GES’ experience at Symphony Park dates to 2011 with the construction of the 500 Main Street Parking Garage and continues through today with multiple parcels through Southern Land Company, and Auric at Symphony Park through Walker and Dunlap. Through our vast experience providing our entire suite of services, GES has its thumb print upon seemingly every corner of the development.
For the mixed-use high rise on parcels C & D, GES prepared a geotechnical evaluation including addressing undocumented fill. The impact of westward expansion- namely a railway- was not a common consideration during the early 1800’s. So, GES performed Certified Environmental Manager (CEM) services, one of which is environmental grid analysis. This analysis was conducted in compliance with the Soil Groundwater Management Plan (SGMP) to determine soil reusability which helped the client save time and minimize expenses during construction.
CEM services were also required during the excavation and grading process. During which pockets of petroleum products, asbestos pipes, and other potentially hazardous materials were found. GES provided support in the characterization, disposal, and documentation of these materials. Our environmental services allowed construction to continue almost seamlessly, while safely handling hazardous materials leftover from the site’s Union Pacific past.
GES also provided a site-specific health and safety plan (HASP) in accordance with the SGMP. The HASP addressed hazards commonly associated with work health and safety training requirements, medical surveillance program, hazard evaluation, air and personal monitoring, site control, decontamination, safe work practices, emergency procedures, and standard operating procedures.
GES is now performing special inspections and construction materials testing for the high-rise.
For the parking structures on parcels B & L, GES provided a CEM during the geotechnical field investigation to provide oversight of the sampling, field screening, testing, storage, handling, treatment and off-site transport of any hazardous and non-hazardous material encountered. The CEM worked closely with the field crew and made final determinations on the segregation of clean and potentially contaminated soils.
GES utilized our sister company, Eagle Drilling Services, to drill 18 exploratory borings totaling 1,080 feet of drilling for each site. The soil was classified and recorded in general accordance with ASTM D2488. The drilling crew were all 40-hour health and safety trained as hazardous waste operators (HAZWOPER) in accordance with 29 CFR, Part 1910.120.
As redevelopment continues at Symphony Park and throughout the Southwest, we have the experience and are ready to bring environmental consulting to the table during both the engineering and construction phases. GES’ services are here to expedite the construction process while ensuring the safe and sustainable development of both historic and new projects.