Cashman Equipment Campus Sets the Gold Standard for Green

The 77-year-old construction equipment company will pursue LEED gold certification for its new seven-building campus in Henderson.

By Tony Illia

The new Cashman Equipment campus features a three-story administrative building oriented to maximize natural light through its high-performance glazing while minimizing heat gain. Photo by SH Architecture

Cashman Equipment, Nevada’s Caterpillar dealer, is seeking to become the state’s largest LEED gold-certified campus with its new, 300,000-sq-ft corporate headquarters in Henderson.

The seven-building development is located along north St. Rose Parkway between Maryland Parkway and Spencer Street. Las Vegas-based Burke & Associates is the general contractor.

“Going green is a sound business choice,” says Mike Pack, Cashman’s president. “We will see a return on investment in five to six years from the energy savings. However, sustainability is a choice Cashman would have made regardless of the economic factors because it’s the right thing to do.”

Cashman was established in 1931 to provide heavy equipment to the Hoover Dam project. The 77-year-old firm has since run out of space at its longtime headquarters at 3101 E. Craig Road in North Las Vegas. Cashman employs 800 people statewide.

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The firm will keep the North Las Vegas property as a satellite branch office. Cashman, a privately held company, declined to disclose the project’s cost, but estimates peg it to around $74 million. The firm bought the 53-acre property for $28.6 million, or $539,622 per acre, from the city of Henderson in 2006.

The complex, designed by Las Vegas-based SH Architecture, includes sustainable features such as drought-tolerant landscaping, halogen lights and low-flow plumbing fixtures. In addition, roughly 82% of building materials are being recycled, and 40% come from the region.

Onsite rock, for example, was crushed and screened for Type II aggregate for ground coverings as well as base foundations. Las Vegas Paving Corp. is the earthwork contractor.

The concrete tilt-wall buildings use a total of 460 panels that are all cast onsite with fly ash. The largest panel weighs 200 tons. Eight-in. floor and apron slabs use a synthetic fiber mix to better withstand heavy equipment loading. Precision Concrete, North Las Vegas, is the concrete contractor.

“This is a unique project that makes a statement about the company’s commitment to the community as well as its people,” says Roger Thomas, Burke’s senior project manager.

The project, for instance, has a geothermal heating/cooling system that consists of 360, 4-in.-diameter wells that draw hot air 400 ft below ground where it’s dispersed, cooled and then pumped above. The system, which uses 65 mi worth of pipe, relies on Southern Nevada’s constant 75-80 degree earth temperature for efficient year-round heating and cooling.

“The project is designed for an average 43% savings in energy costs,” says Curt Carlson, a principal with SH Architecture. “All seven buildings are tied into the geothermal well system and distributed back out through the central plant to individual buildings. The building systems eventually pay for themselves in energy savings.”

The campus features a three-story, 65,000-sq-ft administrative building oriented to maximize natural light and reduce heat gain. High-performance glazing, skylights and white paint carry sunlight into offices.

The building uses electronic metering to automatically adjust and dim light fixtures and raise and lower window shades as needed. The main entrance is a dramatic clear-height space with a floating staircase, terrazzo flooring and wood paneling. Floor and wall tiles used recycled glass aggregate; lockers and toilet partitions are made from reused old plastic milk cartons; and recycled polyester fabric provides upholstery and workstation paneling.

Low-volatile-organic-compound adhesives, sealants and paint are used to minimize harmful emissions.

Repair and service areas are sunlit spaces with reflective white concrete floors and whitewashed walls as well as windowed roll-up doors and overhead skylights. There are also 40 large-diameter Solatubes that concentrate natural light for energy-free illumination.

Shop spaces are equipped with 1- to 17-ton-rated floor and roof-mounted cranes. Grease and oils are safely captured and recycled.

Additional campus components consist of a 23,000-sq-ft rental building, a security structure, 35,000-sq-ft warehouse, canopied wash rack and central plant building. The buildings are carefully arranged onsite to maximize traffic flow and minimize waste. There is natural daylighting to over 90% of all occupied spaces.

Roughly 400 employees will occupy the new campus.

The project, which broke ground in May 2007, will see 275 workers during the peak of construction activity, says Thomas. It’s on budget and will open in phases through December.

“The abundant environmental benefits may be the most apparent reason for a company to go green, but it was not Cashman’s only consideration,” says MaryKaye Cashman, company chairman. “The benefits to our employees’ well-being were also of paramount importance. The combination of all these elements elevates employee productivity and retention, improves the customers’ experience and sets an example for the construction industry.”

Key Players
Owner: Cashman Equipment Co.
General Contractor: Burke & Associates
Architect: SH Architecture
Engineers: Harris Consulting Engineers; Mendenhall Smith Eng.; Performance Engineering
Subcontractors: Evergreen Recycling Inc.; Precision Concrete; Las Vegas Paving Corp.; Precision Electric; Interstate Plumbing & Air Cond.; Stout Roofing, GlassWall Construction; Ferraro Marble Cos.

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