Project Team
Owner: Seminole Tribe of Florida, Hollywood, Fla.
Developer: The Cordish Co., Baltimore
Location: Hollywood
Cost: $265 million
Contractor: Perini/Suitt, a joint venture of Perini Building Co., Celebration, Fla., and Suitt Construction Co., Maitland, Fla.
Architect: Klai Juba Architects, Las Vegas

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood opened in May, just shortly after its planned completion in March. The complex features approximately 500 luxury guestrooms in a 12-story hotel tower. The facility also includes a 130,000-sq.-ft. casino, retail shops, nightclubs and restaurants, including a 9,600-sq.-ft. Hard Rock Café. The resort features a four-acre, lagoon-style pool with a water slide; more than 100,000 sq. ft. of meeting and exhibit space; and a 16,000-sq.-ft. grand ballroom.

One of the biggest challenges was the phasing of the construction in order to accommodate financing issues. Significantly, as phase two was set to begin, the project's scope was increased to nearly double the number of rooms to 500. Despite this increase in scope, the project completion date was unchanged.

To meet the unchanged completion date, the Perini/Suitt team went to an accelerated schedule and fast-tracked construction during the final eight months of the project.

Because the hotel tower's foundation had been designed to accommodate a future expansion, the team added on to either side of the topped-out structure for the new rooms. Perini/Suitt separated the new work into two subprojects. Dry-in had to continue on the initial structure while the new construction began. The wings connected seamlessly with the main building once the new work was finished.

Also, in order to accommodate planned future development, a decision was made to relocate 500 ft. of an existing lake. Dredging and compacting of the lake was fast-tracked so as to not delay the opening of the hotel/casino.