Building Nevada - May 2002

Carson Taylor Harvey

Veteran Contracting Firm Gets New Name

by Tom Dye

Las Vegas’ oldest general contracting firm has a new name to reflect its affiliation with a national company, but has the same mission that has earned it respect for more than 50 years. Carson Construction Co., founded in 1946 by Don Carson, began operating under its new name in March. The Las Vegas operation was acquired three years ago by Taylor Ball Corp., a national general contractor based in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Iowa company changed its name in March to Taylor Construction Group and its subsidiaries were renamed to reflect their top management and affiliation with Taylor. Carson Construction became Carson Taylor Harvey. Doug Carson, who took over as head of the Las Vegas operation from his father in the mid-1970s, is chief executive officer. Peter Harvey, who was area manager for Clark and Sullivan Constructors Inc. before joining Carson two years ago, is president.

"Our mission is not going to change," said Roger Morones, director of business development for the Las Vegas operation. "We are committed to building a better Nevada. We will continue to build quality projects, keeping business owners in mind." The firm plans to capitalize on its knowledge of Las Vegas and ties to the community.

The Las Vegas firm started out as a residential contractor, but quickly branched out into small office projects. Carson Construction still had a modest annual volume of $1 million in projects when Doug Carson became president in 1974. Typically, the firm’s projects are in the $5 million to $30 million range. It constructs small- to-medium-sized office buildings and also stays busy with casino expansions and a variety of other projects in the public and private sectors. In the last three years, the firm has been a contractor on a wide variety of projects from a 75,000-square-foot office for the county Regional Transportation Commission and the Regional Flood Control District to a $15 million expansion of the Henderson campus of the Community College of Southern Nevada and a $16 million central plant for the Las Vegas Convention Center’s mechanical systems. This year, it is building three police substations for the Metropolitan Police Department and a three-story time-share facility for Consolidated Resorts. The firm plans to complete a 15,000-square-foot pharmacy for CVS Pharmacies near the Boardwalk Casino on the Strip. It has also done renovation projects for Stations Casinos and added 55,000 square feet of convention space for the Stardust Hotel and Casino.

Steady growth has resulted in the need for a larger headquarters. The company relocated in August 2001 from a 5,000-square-foot office building to a freestanding facility twice as large at 255 E. Warm Springs Rd. The firm has an administrative staff of 25 and about 30 people working in the field.

Morones reported the Las Vegas operation is coming off its strongest year with a volume of $72 million in construction projects in 2001. The alliance with the Iowa company has been an important factor in Carson’s recent success. "This has allowed us to bring in national resources and new ideas to support the Las Vegas office," he stated. The Iowa operation expanded by building similar projects and its style meshes with the philosophy that made the Carson firm successful, Morones explained. By coincidence, both companies were founded in the same year. Taylor also has a branch in another Iowa city, Cedar Rapids, as well as operations in San Diego, Calif.; Denver, Colo.; Kansas City, Mo.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and Temecula, Calif. Jack Taylor is president of the national company.
     

Tom Dye
Tom Dye is a freelance writer based in Las Vegas.