Aria Campus, commonly known by its former name CityCenter, is a mixed-use, urban complex on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada.

Another hotel and condo project, The Harmon, never opened due to construction defects; the site was redeveloped as another shopping mall, known as 63.

The project was conceived by MGM president and chief financial officer Jim Murren, who envisioned an urban district for Las Vegas, similar to Greenwich Village or Haight-Ashbury.

MGM has sold off several of its CityCenter properties, including Crystals in 2016, the Mandarin Oriental hotel (now Waldorf Astoria) in 2018, and the former Harmon site in 2021.

Later that year, MGM bought out Dubai World's ownership stake, gaining full control of Aria and Vdara, its last remaining properties at the complex.

[12] CityCenter was built on 67 acres (27 ha) on the Las Vegas Strip,[13] in between MGM's Monte Carlo and Bellagio resorts.

[4] Early site work had begun by August 2005, with Perini Building Company as general contractor for the parking garage and CityCenter.

[16][17] Construction of CityCenter began on June 25, 2006, with a concrete pour forming the foundation for the future Aria Resort and Casino.

The Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council demanded that Perini take three steps before work could resume: agree to pay for additional safety training for workers, allow national union researchers to examine root causes of safety problems on the site, and allow union leaders full access to the work site.

[47][48] In March 2009, Dubai World sued MGM, accusing the latter of mismanaging development at CityCenter, resulting in the cost overruns.

The lawsuit placed the project in financial jeopardy, as a $220 million construction payment was due later that month and Dubai World declined to fund it.

[89][90] In March 2010, Perini sued MGM and Dubai World for $492 million in unpaid construction costs, relating primarily to its work on the Harmon.

The company also questioned the billing amount and sought a detailed accounting from Perini, seeking to eliminate charges that may have already been paid off.

[94] In May 2010, Perini requested Nevada governor Jim Gibbons to open an investigation into MGM's lack of payment and its financial situation, as the company was struggling amid the recession.

In 2021, MGM bought out Dubai World's interest for $2.1 billion,[108][109] gaining full ownership of Aria and Vdara, its last remaining properties at CityCenter.

[113][114][115] CityCenter's master plan was designed by Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects,[8][116] which spent 20 months working on the project.

[4] Unlike recent Las Vegas resorts which featured a theme,[117] CityCenter was designed as a modern urban district, similar to Greenwich Village or Haight-Ashbury.

[4] Gensler served as the executive architect,[4] assembling a group of prominent designers who would work on individual components of CityCenter.

[125] The Cosmopolitan resort, located directly north,[126] is sometimes mistaken as part of CityCenter due to its similar design.

[129][130] Architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne opined that CityCenter's designers coated it with "a high-gloss, homogenous and faintly corporate sheen", stating that it is "wrapped in a series of shimmering mirrored-glass packages, making the place from certain angles look like a slightly less buttoned-up version" of Time Warner Center in Manhattan.

[81] CityCenter's main entrance along the Strip consists of a multi-lane roadway, while pedestrians enter along narrow walkways and overhead bridges.

Architects were critical of the entry design, viewing it as bland and unattractive, while many pedestrians chose to pass by CityCenter as a result.

There are wide ramps coming off the Las Vegas Strip, auto turnarounds, and porte cochères—all good for traffic flow but hardly what you would call urban open space.

[131] A year after CityCenter's opening, MGM added landscaping to the entry area and signs to help guide pedestrians onto the property.

[1] Gaming analysts expressed skepticism about the success of CityCenter's condominiums, citing the large number of residential units already planned for the Strip.

As a result, MGM installed a live webcam overlooking the CityCenter construction site, hoping to convince perspective buyers of the project's viability.

[172][173] MGM initially declined buyer requests to lower condo prices in 2009, noting unpredictable economic conditions.

[174] Later that year, MGM partnered with PennyMac Financial Services to create a financing program for buyers, helping them close escrow on their units.

[189] CityCenter's only performance theater, located at Aria, closed in 2016 for a 200,000 sq ft (19,000 m2) expansion of the resort's convention center.

[202] Several measures were taken by MGM and the county to reduce traffic,[203] including the construction of roundabouts in front of Aria and Vdara that connect to other CityCenter properties.