A new home

By Brian Sodoma

Friday, Jan. 30, 2009 | noon

During the valley’s real estate boom in 2005, it was tough to find a 50-acre land parcel, as zealous developers were bidding up land prices and swallowing up portions of the city, many of which have become today’s foreclosure casualties. At the time, getting a large land parcel with freeway frontage was an even taller order for Cashman Equipment Co. owner, MaryKaye Cashman, who was looking to relocate her heavy equipment sales and rental center.

Undeterred, the company finally struck a deal with the city of Henderson for 52 acres of land that, while it didn’t provide freeway frontage, still offered plenty of other pluses. Today, Cashman Equipment now calls Henderson home, after its November move into a 305,000-square-foot headquarters at 3300 St. Rose Parkway. The move is a win-win for both the company and Henderson, according to Bob Cooper, Henderson’s economic development manager, whose jurisdiction gained a solid employer with some 300 employees and a history as a positive valley corporate citizen.

“We did feel we were entering more into a partnership than a simple buyer-seller transaction,” Cooper said. “After they saw the vision of St. Rose Parkway and understood that it was going to be eight lanes, I think they bought into it.”

Cashman’s new home is awaiting LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Mike Pack, president and chief operating officer for Cashman Equipment, said a Gold certification likely will be achieved, and the company may actually consider adding other green building touches to push its rating to Platinum, which will offer the company a 35-percent tax break, as opposed to a 30-percent for Gold.

“We should get the certification by late first quarter, early second quarter. We’re considering adding solar energy, if we’re only a couple points from Platinum,” he said.

While location and quick access to Interstate 15 were prime selling points for the 52-acre parcel, geothermal capabilities also made the site more attractive.

“Geothermal is probably the neatest thing about this. I explain to people all the time that we have 360 wells that are 400 feet deep, and it’s 68 degrees down there. … Anyone that comes in, I find myself walking around and talking (with) about all this stuff,” he added.

Pack also said the site offers much better working environments for technicians working on the heavy equipment. Going from old garages at the company’s North Las Vegas site to new naturally lighted spaces with glass-paned garage doors and climate control is a big improvement for customer service efforts.

“It’s not like a dark dungeon, like so many other garages,” Pack added. “The facility as a whole has exceeded our expectations. It’s an amazing place. It will be a real benefit to customers for the next 40 years.”

Some of the other green building features found at Cashman’s new home include a MechoShade window covering system that monitors and adjusts light coming into the building, while allowing the ground source heat pump system to use heat gain from windows for wintertime heating. Desert friendly landscaping and water efficient appliances are used, too.

Pack said the company’s new home is “as far south” as (the old Craig Road and I-15 site) was north, which has some employees who live in the north valley complaining about their morning commute. But once they settle in, nearby restaurants and other amenities along the Eastern Avenue corridor seem to balance out the positives with the negatives.

“The St. Rose corridor isn’t as flashy as Summerlin, but for industrial this part of town is going to be as good as it gets,” Pack added.