It's a familiar story in image-conscious Las Vegas: When something reaches middle age, it gets ditched for something newer. In the case of the 40-year-old City Hall, not only did Las Vegas outgrow the facility, but the building also needed at least $1.5 million in energy-related retrofits. So the city's 600 employees left the old facility and moved into a swanky new $146.2-million, seven-story building in February, just around the corner from the old one. Related Links: A Tale of Two City Halls for Las Vegas and North Las Vegas ENR Southwest Fortunately, Las Vegas is also famous for reinvention,

Okland Construction sought to create a more identifiable presence for its Tempe, Ariz., office while providing a campus setting in tune with the desert environment.

Now in its 15th year, ENR Southwest's Best Projects competition honors an impressive group of winners.

Providing a safe and secure working environment for forensic examiners while revitalizing a blighted area, this two-story facility houses a variety of offices and lab spaces dedicated to the examination of everything from explosives to dangerous biological materials.

In relocating its headquarters to Las Vegas from Atlanta, electronics recycling firm US Micro Corp. needed a secure and functional warehouse and office space that would also fulfill the company's environmental ethic.

The 1974-vintage, 220-million-gallons-per-day Val Vista Water Treatment Plant needed an upgrade to meet increasingly stringent federal water quality standards and to protect public health.

This facility helps promote a sense of place and inclusion for an area of South Phoenix sorely in need of a community center.

Named after one of Scottsdale, Ariz.'s founding fathers, this new park is the result of more than 20 years of planning.

Centrally located at a Phoenix campus in what architect Mark Kranz calls a "crazy busy site," this project-of-the-year finalist integrates a host of functions into a single, colossal three-story structure.

The 1960s-era Del Norte High School campus is located on one of Albuquerque's busiest intersections and is a critical part of the city's main school district.