Redevelop That!
Redevelop That!
Cadence: From Industrial Past To Community Future
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From wartime industry to neighborhood life, the east side of Henderson has undergone a transformation that few thought possible. We sit down with Landwell’s president and CEO, Lee Ferris, to unpack how the Cadence master plan community turned 2,200 remediated acres into parks, homes, and streets that actually connect people. This is a story about vision, safety, and the kind of patience that only comes from strong partnerships and a clear city plan.
Lee walks us through BMI’s origins—water, power, and infrastructure that helped spark Henderson—and how those assets evolved into Landwell’s role as master developer. We dig into why they chose a residential master plan over more industrial pads, how environmental cleanup met residential standards, and what it took to recruit builders who would embrace “no walls,” public streets, and a mix of price points. You’ll hear how Central Park and the Home Finding Center were built first to earn trust, why mature trees arrived before model homes, and how common materials used thoughtfully can create a distinctive look without bloated budgets.
We also explore the human side: a lean team that debated openly, curated partners carefully, and stuck to the long game through market swings. With Water Street just minutes away, Cadence residents gain a vibrant main street—restaurants, live music, and events—that makes the community feel larger than its borders. Along the way, Lee shares candid lessons on saying no to short-term gains, designing for everyday life, and the legacy of creating places where a single-story home can sit comfortably across from a townhome and both feel right.
If you care about city building, redevelopment, or simply how great neighborhoods come to life, this conversation delivers practical insight and a hopeful blueprint for doing big things the right way. Subscribe, share this episode with a fellow city nerd or neighbor, and leave a review with the one design idea you think every community should steal.
Spring Updates On Water Street
SPEAKER_01Welcome back to Redeveloped Act, Tiffany, and the Redevelopment Agency, City of Henderson.
SPEAKER_00Hey everyone, welcome back.
SPEAKER_01Hope you're all starting to enjoy our uh beautiful spring weather. Uh it doesn't seem like uh winter's even come and gone, but it kind of has. So we're uh we're excited to be uh be back with you for another great interview uh that we were able to uh sit down with the president and CEO of Cadence Community. So uh we'll uh get to hear some uh behind the scenes of of that community and uh how it came to be and some amazing uh things that are going on out there. But before we get there, we want to tell you more about redevelopment. That's that's what we're about. Redevelopment.
SPEAKER_00We do. Although this is an exciting podcast, I think everyone wants to know the history behind Cadence and how we got to where we're at today. Um, so I'll keep it quick. Um the spring weather is nice, it's a great time to walk through the Water Street district, come to your favorite businesses. Um, hopefully you'll check out Cuckoo's No Location. They've been a downtown staple for 30 years, and they're open again on Basic Road across from Little Chapel on the corner. And then just right down the street from them, uh Galaxy Garage recently renovated the old Dwayne's automotive shop. Um, and they're open and here just for all of your automotive needs. And just a little bit down the road, we have um Baja Mar is gonna be opening on Pacific near Pacific Diner in a couple of weeks.
Events, Openings, And Project Restarts
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so we got a lot of great uh activity going on. We also just as an update for all those who might be wondering, the Watermark project, our big mixed use project here on Water Street, is starting back up again, and they are looking to complete that project here with the next uh several months, and so we're excited to have that uh those new retail spaces and commercial spaces available and new residential options available for anyone that's interested in moving on to Water Street.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, their residential listings and leasing should be up this week, and we should see construction over there this week. So that's exciting.
SPEAKER_01That is exciting. They have all the range of units from studios all the way up to three bedrooms, so uh you whatever you're looking for, they uh they have an up opportunity for you, an option for you to to look at. So, but we're excited to have that uh that project up and going again and getting some new businesses and restaurants uh into that location. It'll help activate that area really well.
SPEAKER_00And it'll be perfect, perfect location if you want to move in there. You'll be across the street from all of our events, and we are just getting into event season. Um coming up in three weekends. We have the St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival, March 14th through 16th. Um, that has a carnival all three days, the parade Saturday morning, car show Sunday. It's a great event for the whole family.
SPEAKER_01Great way to kick off spring, right?
SPEAKER_00It is, it is a really fun event. And stop by all your favorite businesses while you're down here. We also have Battle of the Bands coming up at the end of March, March 28th and 29th, which is a really cool event. They have a 18 and under and 18 and older. So there's a lot of talented groups that submit for that. It's really fun to come watch.
SPEAKER_01That'd be cool.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And remember, you can always go check out our website at waterstreetdistrict.com and see all the events and activities that are going on because yeah, this time is this time of year, as Tiffany, as you pointed out, there's a lot going on down here.
SPEAKER_00There's almost something every weekend.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, go check out our website, waterstreetdistrict.com, and you can uh see all the events and uh activities going on.
SPEAKER_00On top of that, you can get a link to our business directory and go follow all of our businesses because they have a lot of events going on this spring too. There's a lot of live music every weekend, um, trivia some nights. There's a lot of different fun things going on in the district.
Why Cadence Matters For East Henderson
Meet Landwell And BMI’s Origins
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so we cut quite a few of our uh restaurants, they have what's called an urban lounge license. And as part of the requirement for them to have the that license, they uh are expected to provide some type of live entertainment or activity uh during the week. And so that's uh so there's as you just mentioned Tiffany, there's a lot of opportunities there to come down and be a part. Yeah, that's a fun time. Excellent. Well, now that we got that out of the way, we're here to talk about more redevelopment and specifically the Cadence Master Plan Community. It's actually one of our largest redevelopment areas in the city and the east side redevelopment area. And that particular community alone is over 2,200 acres in size and is going to have over 12,000 residential uh housing options available throughout and parks and regional park facilities and uh all sorts of uh events. They host a lot of their own events within the that master plan community, and so it's uh it's a wonderful addition to our older parts of our our city here on the east side and is really uh making a transformational change. And with that, we got to sit down with the president of Cadence and Landwell, Lee Ferris, who has uh he's been a part of that uh project from almost the beginning. Um and he uh sat down with us and shared some of the insights and behind the scenes of of that project and kind of of the um BMI complex. Uh if you're familiar with downtown Henderson, we have a large industrial manufacturing complex that sits uh just off of Water Street a little bit there by Lake Mead. And um that has uh been an uh integral part of the of Henderson's history um and is still a part of our history today, but where the Cadence community is was is specifically that area uh uh was tied to the BMI plants back in the day and uh needed uh some uh remediation work done to make it happen. But Lee Lee talks about all that, so I don't want to preempt his uh his uh his glory uh for a moment to shine. And so why don't we go ahead and uh we'll sit back, relax, and we'll enjoy the interview with Lee Ferris. Welcome back to Redevelop That here today with Lee Ferris from the Landwell Corporation, president, CEO.
SPEAKER_03Correct.
SPEAKER_01Got it all right? Correct, awesome. Correct. Well, thanks for uh taking the time to sit down with us today and uh share a little bit about your story of where you've uh where you came from and what Landwell is. I I kind of was thinking about this uh as this interview as we're kind of coming into it, is like, you know, we hear a lot about landwell and maybe what landwell might, you know, might be or what they have done, you know, specifically within the city of Henderson and in our east side is with Cadence. Um but maybe give a little bit of uh background or history to what Landwell, where Landwell came from, and you know, why you guys are uh you know in charge of so much around here.
From War-Era Industry To City Infrastructure
SPEAKER_03Sure. So uh Landwell is an affiliate um of the Basic Management Incorporated, uh BMI. BMI obviously is a name probably a lot of folks uh in this area are familiar with. Uh originally BMI stood for basic um uh basic magnesium incorporated. It was formed by the federal government in 1941 uh to refine magnesium down for the war effort. Uh once the plant stopped operating, uh it was uh sold to the state, and the state leased that land out to uh manufacturing companies uh uh through the late 40s and early 50s. And then in 1952, the industrial, the operators, the the industrial companies bought the facility and all its holdings. And um they each individually bought their manufacturing plants, but there was a lot of common facilities and land that surrounded it that they put into a holding company called Basic Management Incorporated. So we were formed in 1952. We acquired all our assets, including all our land, in 1952 for a poultry price of about five million dollars. That included, among other things, a water system, a power system, a sewer system, and about 5,000 acres of land. So uh a bargain at any price. Um and really BMI then proceeded to just serve the industries uh through uh the first uh say 40 years of operation, uh bringing raw water into the city uh for their processing from Lake Mead. We also sold water to the city of Henderson to treat. We were the initial water provider to SNWA before SNWA existed for the uh Las Vegas Valley Water District. So uh when they first started, uh we actually provided them raw water so they could build their first facility out at Lake Mead. Um we have been kind of ingrained in the community, but done it in a very kind of silent and uh secretive way, I guess. Maybe secretive is not the right word, but quiet way. Quietly. Definitely quiet. Uh just kind of, you know, under the radar, doing what we thought civically we should do. I think it's always been a civically minded company given its origin. Um and then in the 90s, as the Las Vegas Valley uh kind of boomed from a real estate perspective, uh I think the shareholders uh realized they were setting on uh some valuable assets in 5,000 acres of land. Henderson obviously started to boom with Green Valley uh coming online, and uh they started to look through what it would take to uh develop the land assets that they had. And so uh obviously because of the prior use of some of the property, we went through an extensive uh environmental uh look at the property, and about 3,000 acres were initially cleared to be used because they were never used as part of the industrial process. Um and we started to slowly liquidate our land. So our land extends as far west as past the Valley Ottawa. So the Valley Ottawa was originally holding a BMI, it goes south of the 215 in the Champion Village, and it goes obviously as far east as Cadence. Um and so Landwell really got formed in the 90s. Originally was called the Victory Valley Land Company, and then they changed the name to the Landwell Company in the late 90s. And Landwell has been slowly uh going through our land, working closely with the city uh on proper land planning, proper zoning, trying to work within what the city's master plan was and what the city's vision for the east side was, and um getting our land ready and then being a responsible master developer and trying to uh develop these things so that they I think brought value to the city, value to the surrounding communities, um, and left a legacy that I think we can be proud of.
SPEAKER_01Well it definitely is uh transformed the east side of of Henderson uh from what it uh was in the day of that uh of just law raw vacant land that seemed to be recreated on a lot more often than uh probably should have been, but uh but be able to transform that into something like Cadence, into a a community that um you know has really provided uh impact uh to the east side and to our older parts of our our city specifically. And so that's uh it's been a transformational force.
Clearing Land And Forming Landwell
SPEAKER_03And so yeah, I think our shareholders um uh have laid down an edict since I've been here 21 years, right? And and w the one of the most important things they wanted us to do, they they have two real rules. One, they wanted to leave a legacy. I think uh it was important to them to honor the legacy of of the of the the the contributions that the industrial site has um made to the valley. And I I think the industrial site, no matter what you think of it, has uh has had a dramatic impact on the valley. It brought some of the original infrastructure facilities in and um it is the origin of Henderson. Yeah. Um but to find a way to do it and ensure it was done safely, that we were good stewards of the land, that we left a uh I think a valuable legacy and one that we could all be proud of, but do it in a safe way to make sure it was safe for everybody that was going to be out here using the land.
SPEAKER_01Well it's funny because Tiffany and I, we've been doing a lot of history research and history projects on on Henderson past year, it seems like, and uh the ironic part about it was is that it was never meant to be permanent. That uh you know the plant was developed for the well, you mentioned for the war effort, and the town around it was basically developed just for the workers while that effort was going on, but it was never meant to stay. And uh, but we had some residents that wanted to stick around and see it out, and so uh so yeah, so I think the that beginning is is a super interesting uh way that the city has grown over the years and how how the plants have been such a vital part of that process.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think a lot of credit goes to those original plant workers who relocated their families for an opportunity and formed a community.
SPEAKER_01To go live in a hot desert without air conditioning.
SPEAKER_03That's right, right. But but you know, to the government's credit, they built a post office and uh in a main street and kind of made it a little town, right? A hospital and schools and water treatment plant and wastewater treatment plant. And they built a little city, but those folks who relocated here uh formed their own community, and when the plant was ready to be shut down, they weren't ready to leave their community. So um I think we all owe a debt to those folks who originally moved here and formed their own community and look what they've been able to build, right? Look what's come out of their legacy.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. So with that, you know, we talked about uh a lot of other people moving here. What drew you to drew you to come here? You said 21 years ago.
Vision: A Master Plan Over More Industry
SPEAKER_03Is that what so I uh I went uh because you weren't always president CEO. I was not always president CEO. Uh I grew up on the East Coast in the Washington, D.C. area. And uh as I was choosing uh colleges, I um went to visit a college that I was sure I was gonna go to on the East Coast and realized that everyone I went to high school with all still hung out together at that school. And I thought that was really odd. So I decided I wanted to go far away. So I ended up choosing uh the University of Arizona in Tucson and uh went to school there for four years. And then one of my classmates, uh Christina Swallow, who was the former director of NDOT, she moved up here and got a job and uh called and said, Hey, if you're looking for a job, there's they're hiring civil engineers here in Las Vegas. This place is booming. Come on up. And I came up on a Tuesday, and the first place I went into offered me a job, and uh I accepted the job and moved here. So I started working for a civil engineering firm and worked for that firm for 10 years. And one of my clients was was Landwell. And then um eventually Landwell uh kind of had some staff turnover and I was on loan to them for about a year, and then uh Landwell uh offered me a job. My boss, Mark Parris, my former boss, who was the CEO and president before me, offered me a job and uh I came over to work for Landwell 21 years ago.
SPEAKER_01It's quite the story.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it's uh, you know, I think a lot of folks in the development world here in Las Vegas, a lot of us, right? You you know, at 21 years old, you think I'll move to Vegas for five years. Why wouldn't I? It'll sound like a good idea, and you have this idea of what Las Vegas is, and then you get here and you realize it's like any other town in the country, and you again like the folks that first moved here, right? You form your friends, you get in a community, you realize it's a pretty good place to live, there's a lot going on, um, and then you stay.
SPEAKER_01I think that's uh uh a never-ending story that we hear a lot, and it's always uh and uh people moving out here thinking the exact same thing. I'm just gonna be there for you know, those early residents of Henderson thought the same thing, but like you had mentioned, they're you know, they decided it's not not terrible. And uh we have the friends and community, let's uh we'll stick it out and make it work.
SPEAKER_03And I think it's a city of opportunity. I mean, there's a lot of opportunity here. If you're entrepreneurial, there's a lot of opportunity to kind of uh chart your own course and kind of you can kind of get into what you want to do. And um if you're in the development business, there's always a lot of great projects going on here. Um and it's a good place to develop. It's uh we understand we need to kind of grow and we I think have learned over the years how to do it well. I I think Las Vegas is um in the valley and Henderson is specifically is a model for how to grow. I mean, Henderson, I think, is the home of a great master plan community. So it is what people want, and I think Henderson does it better than anyone else. I they just know how to do it, they attract those kind of developers, and I think those attract people who want to live in Henderson. So if you like that, and all my projects, when I worked for the engineering firm, I worked on Green Valley Ranch and I worked on Seven Hills and I worked on Anthem and I worked on Tuscany. So uh my experience immediately fell into master plans, and then I was able to bring that experience over here to Landwell.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna say, so you know, you had all this land that uh that was uh available uh at your disposal. Uh what uh you know, what drove that idea or what got you going down that road of thinking master plan community? I mean, you could have done anything, you could have, you know, depending, you know, based on the area that we're kind of in, you could have done more industrial, you could have done, you know, kind of a mix of more commercial um, but what uh what drew you guys to to take and look at doing a 2200-acre master plan community?
Legacy, Safety, And Environmental Remediation
Lee’s Path To Henderson And Landwell
SPEAKER_03Well, my my predecessor, Mark Paris, um who I think is uh an underappreciated visionary, and he's embarrassed every time I say that, but he he he um sees things that I just don't think people see. And uh he had worked at Summerlin. He uh got recruited by the Disney Corporation and went and worked on Celebration, their master plan in Florida, uh and then came back to Las Vegas uh and was working on the Fremont Street for the Fremont Street experience when uh the board of directors lured him back to landwell. Okay. Um Mark, I think, saw what no one else did uh which was uh we had done commercial with the Valley Autumn, and we had done industrial on the other side of the freeway, which I think is you know follow some good land practices. We did industrial around the complex, which I think is good land practices, but there was this piece of land setting out there where Cadence is now that was surrounded by residential, um, and I think presented an opportunity to kind of reshape uh East Henderson. And as I said, our shareholders wanted a legacy. And if you were once we decided we were gonna go through and do the environmental restoration work, why not do it to residential standards and why not create something that will leave a lasting legacy? And not that industrial development doesn't create legacy, but I don't think it does in any way like uh first rate, high quality master plan community. And to be able to, I think, also I you know, BMI is kind of uh is in East Henderson. I think our office has always been in East Henderson. Uh we've always been situated here. We felt that um East Henderson was a gym that was yet just needed uh I think a little push to kind of help kind of restart the redevelopment. And I think along with what the city's done on Water Street, what Lake Las Vegas does, what Tuscany does, it was just a lot of value here. It was underserved in that we could bring in a great master plan, uh we could we think change the complexion of East Henderson, we could be part of what will kind of I think is part of the rebirth of East Henderson and kind of the transformation of East Henderson, we could be part of that. And it's I think fun to be part of big projects like that and be a piece of the puzzle uh that kind of recreates part of a city. It's it and it I say it to people all the time, it's fun to do it. It's hard, but it's fun. Right. Uh but I think Mark always made it fun, and even when it was really hard and things weren't going our way, you always knew what was going to be there at the end. And you know, you just kind of have to find the fun part of it. And we just had a park grand opening, I know you were at, right? And as we were setting on the stage and people were making their speeches, and all I could think was all the kids in the background on that play piece of equipment screaming and yelling and having a great time. And you can't get that with an industrial park, but um, but you can get that if you do a great master plan community. You get people a chance to have a place to call home, you you you get to create great open spaces, and those things will outlast all of us, I think. So um I I I give all credit to realizing the value of Cadence to Mark. Mark saw something that I think not many of us saw and um had a vision as to what he wanted and um then got a team around him to execute his vision.
SPEAKER_01Definitely sound like he had a background on in it. Uh some of those master plan communities like uh uh celebration and they were uh you know groundbreaking in their in their own right in those in those areas and so to be able to bring that kind of vision here. That's awesome. I didn't know that. That that that's kind of where uh where that drew from. And so that's uh that's exciting to to see. And I agree. You know, there's the hard part about master plan communities is being able to see the long time long term vision and then seeing it out. Um, you know, being in redevelopment, I guess we should we're uh we're kind of on the same boat with you that you know we gotta see projects out for 30 years to or 45 and Couple of cases to you know to see it out to the end. Um, and that's not always easy to especially when you get into the middle of the project and you're like, is this really working? Is this what we had anticipated and trying to readjust on the fly sometimes?
SPEAKER_03But yeah, and I think that's what makes Henderson a great partner for master plans, right? You guys have the ability to be patient and see and play the long game and see the long-term value of what a master plan can bring, not just a master plan community, but a master plan city, right? So uh in terms of the city's planning principles and the way the city goes about laying out their city, um I I think the city's a perfect partner if you're a master plan developer because you all think, I think a lot like we do. You see the long game, you're in it for the long haul, you want real value, and you understand that there's always trade-offs to bring in those value, but we we want, I think, what's the best for the future residents. And um it's hard. That's hard to kind of be patient like that. And uh, I think that's also why we've always worked so well with the redevelopment folks, is we both are in this for the long haul, and we both understand that these things don't happen overnight, and you have to be patient, and there's gonna be bumps in the road, and it isn't always gonna go smoothly, right? And you will make mistakes. Um and as long as you learn from them and fix them and correct them and don't don't make them again, it's okay. So um like I said, we've been very fortunate, we've had a great partner with the city. Uh, we've had patient shareholders who understood there would be value in the end if they could just be patient and get through some of the early stages. It takes a lot of folks to be very patient, very understanding, and be willing partners to make something like Cadence happen. And so, and we've just been very fortunate to have the right partners the whole way through.
Why Henderson Excels At Master Plans
SPEAKER_01And that's I was gonna maybe touch on that a little bit if you wouldn't mind touching that you talk about we talk about partnerships and you know how we, you know, the city and the redevelopment agency, we you know, we seek out those partnerships. We try to find good partners to work with like Landwell and others. Um what has been your experience, you know, or your as you've looked for partnerships? You know, it takes a lot of, you know, like you said, it takes a lot of partnerships to be able to to pull off a project like this and to seek out other like-minded individuals and companies that uh want to be a part of that. Well, you know, kind of maybe share what your experience has been like trying to attract those types of partners or looking for uh groups that have a common vision.
Choosing Cadence: The Big Bet On Housing
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I I I know for us uh when we first started uh when we got the master plan in a place where the infrastructure was rolling and we were starting to look for our first builder partners, um, we sat down with a lot of builders and essentially interviewed them a little bit like a job interview in terms of you know what's your vision, what do you want to achieve, what would be the product you'd want to bring, um, what's your goal? Do you want to keep building as do you just want to do one parcel? Do you want to be a partner that's gonna kind of roll over and continue continue to develop parcels? Um same thing with our commercial partners when we were looking for a grocery store operator and we talked to a bunch of them before we settled on uh until we settled on Smiths and we agreed with them. Always with us, it was um making sure they bought into the premise of what Cadence was gonna be. Um and uh, you know, the vision of Cadence was one formed by Landwell, but in partnership with the city. And so as we went through our development agreement, our our OPA with redevelopment, our development standards, we set a very clear direction as to what we wanted Cadence to be. If you drive through Cadence, it looks a little different uh than a lot of master plans. No monument signs, no only only the eights qualified as gated, so all public streets, city standards, street lights. Uh Mark used to use the term bread and butter housing. We were really looking to provide a great uh master plan and great architecture and great housing, but try to create housing that is, I think, uh could serve all economic strata, right? We wanted to kind of provide a housing opportunity for everybody. And so you got to find the right builder partners who are willing to kind of do that. Um we had to kind of work with builders and find builders that would slot themselves so that each of them was bringing a little bit of a different product, different price point, different uh square footage, single story, two-story, three-story, multifamily, uh big lot, small lot. It takes a lot of organization and it takes a lot of uh patience to kind of cobble together the right partners. But then bring builders who wanted to do quality architecture that wanted to um I think embrace what we vision Cadence to be and accept it. Uh and for a lot of our builders early on it was a bit of a struggle. They had in their minds what they used to do, and they used to build a wall around the perimeter of their parcel and put one entry in, and that was one way in and one way out, and to try to convince them, I want you to turn your development inside out, and I want you to front homes on the exterior streets, and I want you to like why would you do that? Right. Uh it's a it was different, and and you know, it took a lot of work to convince them of that, but I think once they kind of started to understand what our vision was, uh we had we were able to bring a great set of builders early on, Woodside, Lenar, Richmond were our first three, and they bought into the concept and said they would they would work with us to kind of deliver what we wanted. Um and then the second thing, which I think Lanwell did was we built the home finding center first to set the architectural standard. So we built a building out in the middle of nowhere uh and we built the first phase of Central Park uh before any home was built so that we would show, hey, we're gonna deliver on what we said we're gonna deliver, we're gonna show you what we expect to do here. Um I always tell people one of the great things we did with Central Park was we went and spent about a quarter of a million dollars and we bought 40 108-inch box trees out of California. And we brought the tree, we graded Central Park and had built nothing else, and we planted the trees. And we did it just so, and these trees were 40, 50 feet tall. Yeah. And we did it just so people started to wonder what the heck's going on over there. Uh, but we also wanted to kind of create this image that this central park had been there for a while. We were trying to kind of create and make us look like we had been here and that we were not brand new. And then so we had to kind of convince our builders to kind of build a lot early so that it looked established and we wanted to be something that perhaps at the time we weren't quite yet. Um and that just takes great partners. But yeah, for us it was you have to kind of talk to everybody and then you find the folks you think most identify with what you want to do that will do uh that share your vision um and that are committed to delivering on that vision.
SPEAKER_01So how many home builders are within Cadence? Do you know?
Partnering With The City For The Long Game
SPEAKER_03I think now we're at nine or ten. Okay. Uh some of them are starting to merge. So we're uh but I think uh on whole we probably had 12 or 14 uh for sale builders. We have America Home for Rent, which is built single family detached for rent. We have Kalita that's broken ground on a single family detached for rent. We have Spanos who's done multifamily, the Wolf company's done multifamily, Deo Horton is building uh a multifamily project. Um so we we've kind of brought in a mix. And again, part of why we like that mix is they all bring a different approach to how they build a house. Sure. Uh they all they use different architects, so you're getting a different or different different architectural looks, and it brings, we think, a little bit of contrast and some architectural variation. And just the homes live differently. Like everything's a little different. Every builder's got their own vision of how they want to sell a home, right? So it just brings vision and it brings choice for our home build home buyers. I think a lot of people call that character, right? Brings character to the correct community. I mean, it's it's always funny. It's one of those things where folks will drive through and say, I can't quite put my finger on why this feels different, but it feels different. Yeah. Um and I think that's one of them. Uh that along with uh we just had a bus tour when um I think it was APA that was in town. ULI, sorry, ULI. Sorry, the ULI folks. Um we drove that we were driving through the bus, and this person sitting up front says, I can't figure out why this looks so different than everything else I've seen in Las Vegas. And I said, You haven't seen a monument sign. He goes, Well, you're right. So he said, How do the builders know where one or buyers know where one ends and one begins? And I said, They don't, and that's what's so great. Yeah. And you're able to put a single-story$6,000 house across the street from a uh two-story townhome that's$300,000, right? So very different buyer, uh, but they're living across the street from each other. And it looks great, and it lives great. And folks can't really figure out why it feels a little different, but it it is.
SPEAKER_01Well, within uh definitely within Las Vegas, it's you know very unique and different, like you said, just for the fact of turning in turning the uh inside approach to the outside, and uh so that you just have all the streets have homes aligned uh aligned. There are no walls that you're up against necessarily. And uh that is just uh that's a you know that's a huge deviation from what I like you said, like our builders have been uh traditionally developed on their on their projects, whether it's a gated community or just uh got two entrances and that's the only way in and out of your neighborhood, and you know, like and just a bunch of landscaping everywhere. But so yeah, yeah, that is definitely it creates a a different feel and a different presence when you're uh within the community.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and I that was definitely a principle I think Mark brought from celebration. And if you've ever been to celebration, that's kind of the way it is. They have uh no walls and very different houses parked built right next to each other. Yeah. Um, those are principles Mark brought from celebration and ones that we really embraced. Um and again, part of that I think was just to kind of create a difference between us and the rest. I mean, it it um Las Vegas does master plans well, that's why there's so many of them. And uh so you got to kind of even differentiate yourself in that, yeah, in that crowd. And so we really tried to do it uh in a way that didn't add cost. So different land planning, uh, you know, all our walls are CMU, but they're four-inch block instead of eight-inch block, little things that we could do to kind of make it look a little different, but with uh we wanted to use off-the-shelf materials. So not a lot of custom materials for us. Everything's kind of off the shelf. Everything's yeah, but just done better, yeah, done differently, um, to kind of just kind of create value and to create something that kind of feels and lives a little different than everywhere else.
SPEAKER_01So, what's the future look like?
Picking Builders Who Share The Vision
SPEAKER_03Well, uh sadly, I think for all of us here at Landwell, uh, we uh so the BMI companies had uh the BMI umbrella had a water and power company, which we have sold off. Um and so Landwell is the last little bit. We have about 40 acres left, uh, all of which is in escrow. And we are working ourselves towards uh unemployment. Um early retirement. Uh yeah. So we have commitments to finish with the city. We have uh uh some infrastructure left to finish, uh 100 acre sports park and a few other things. And we'll we're working to get those done in the next two to two and a half years. Uh and then we'll all be uh uh land well will be no more and uh we'll all be looking for alternative employment.
SPEAKER_01It's kind of an interesting proposition, right? Yeah, I will say um to run a business and basically out of business. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I I when I came here 21 years ago, I was convinced they were gonna sell all their land in the first few years. So I actually uh in my contract had a buyout. If they sold it all in like two years, I got so much severance. I negotiated severance thinking I'd only be here five. Yeah. Um so it's certainly gone on a lot longer than I thought it would, uh, thankfully. Yeah. Um, because I, you know, it's been a great, uh, great place to work. Um it's funny, people usually come work here don't leave here. So uh, you know, my boss had 30 years, our CFO has been here 30 years. Our environmental certified environmental manager has been with us for 30 years. Um, we had the same chairman of the board for 30 years. He just stepped down in uh a year ago, and we've got a new chairman. But um, I think our our our construction guy's been here for 10 years. Before that, he worked on the environmental restoration side. Um, it's a great company to work for. Yeah. Um we're small. I think people are shocked when they find out like our development arm of Landwell during the height of the remediate our uh development was myself, a construction guy, a coordinator, and Cheryl. That's it. And we developed a master plan with you know four people in the development staff. Um pretty amazing. Our our folks like lean, and so do I, right? It gives you the opportunity to kind of have your hands and everything, and you don't get siloed into one particular thing, and you get to kind of know what's going on all over. And I think that helps bring a better master plan. We all know what's going on, and we all get an opportunity to kind of offer our thoughts. Um and we're together a lot, so we kind of are comfortable enough to tell one of us and maybe somebody else, I don't think that's a good idea, and here's why. And no one takes it personally. So it's created kind of a free form ability to communicate and to share thoughts, and uh, I think it brings out the best because we can debate decisions and make sure we're making the best one, right? And you can be done in a way that's professional, but no one gets offended. There's no job too small for one of us, no job too big for one of us. So um it's a really a unique company to work for, and it's been a great experience for me. And uh unfortunately it'll end, but it's been a great ride while we've had it.
SPEAKER_01Great run. Yeah. Yeah, that's uh when you sometimes when you have that small, small footprint, uh, you can definitely still do big things. Um and you know, where a lot of our listeners are with a lot of small, small business owners and uh a lot of small uh businesses here within uh small but growing, right? Growing businesses within uh the city that you know there's hope. Uh we like to give hope to those businesses that uh that you know even of maybe a small footprint, but you can still have a big impact uh on the business that you're in.
Design Choices: No Gates, Streets That Connect
SPEAKER_03So that's uh yeah, you can't overestimate dedication and passion. And if you have those two things, you can do amazing things, I think, right? And it shows people see it, they feel it. I they can kind of tell you it's your passion and you're dedicated to it. And I think it attracts folks to kind of want to experience your business and see what you w what why are you so passionate about it. There must be something going on here if you have that dedication and passion. And I know my experience dealing with the folks on Water Street, you just meet some of those owners and you're just blown away by their passion about what they're doing, their passion about being on Water Street. It's really kind of unique, right? And you get to meet them all, they're all always there. When you go to those restaurants, the owners are always there. Yeah. And they come up and introduce themselves, and you get to kind of form relationships. We form relationships with a few and try to integrate those businesses with our community and introduce them to our community and get our residents, encourage our residents to go frequent Water Street. These are your neighbors, you need to go frequent their establishments. Um, this is a real great amenity for you. You need to go up there and go to these restaurants.
SPEAKER_01We're trying to get a bus to go in between the two. I know, I've I've heard, right?
SPEAKER_03Uh, an automated bus, uh, which I think would be great. And we've had that conversation for years about trying to figure out a way to do that. Yeah. Um Water Street is such an amenity for Cadence. And um for folks, especially, you know, one of the early challenges we had was getting people to come out to Cadence. A lot of folks never went on that side, the east side of the freeway. Yeah. And once you kind of get them there, I think they realize there's a lot going on on in this part of Henderson, right? Uh, and there's a lot of great renewal going on, and there's a lot of new businesses, but there's also a lot of historic businesses there, and companies and businesses have been there for years and years and years serving this area. But there's a lot here. Yeah. Um, and you just got to kind of get them here to see it. And that's been that was one of our early challenges, and we've kind of gotten over that now. We're big enough now, we've gotten over that. But um, now it's getting our residents, you need to go down to Water Street, you need to kind of see what's going on down there, and you need to go to these restaurants. Um, my mom lives in Gaydons, and she probably didn't want me to say that, but that's okay. Uh and getting her and her neighbors, and they finally have started to go frequent some of those restaurants, and I've realized, man, there's some really great places down here, right?
SPEAKER_01Well, and even with uh even within Henderson, our own, you know, like uh the west side, anything past Green Valley or Valley Verde, trying to get a lot of those residents even to come down to to Water Street is sometimes a challenge because like you said, they just don't know. Uh they don't know what they're missing out on yet. So they once they get here though, it's uh we hear a lot of the same same sentiment that's like wow, we had no idea what's going on down here. So it's uh yeah, it's fun, fun to be a part of that. It is, it is, and uh to see that transformation. Uh Tiffany, I and uh she probably always always rolls her eyes at me when I say this, but because I grew up on the west side of town, I was born and raised in Vegas, and go think the thought of going to Henderson in in those days was just like I'm not going past the I-15. So, but now the the the fact that uh to live here, to raise my family here, and to you know to see so many others coming and raising their families here is it's uh it's exciting, it's fun to see.
Setting Standards With Central Park First
SPEAKER_03And um, you know, it's just uh my wife was born and raised here, and when uh when I came to BMI, I had been married to my wife for uh less than a year. No, a year, and I told my mother-in-law I was gonna go work for BMI, and she said, Why would you do that? Because she was she had been here her whole life, right? And she had this image of what BMI was. Yeah. And I had to kind of convince her like it's not what it was, and it's a growing part of town, and we're gonna be part of that transformation. And trust me, I I I know what I'm doing here. Uh and she's, you know, since said, Yeah, I I was probably wrong about that, but uh because she's a wonderful woman. But she just, you know, I mean, to to your point, right? There's these folks who were born and raised in Vegas, and my wife was one of them. She would say, I never went past Green, like past sunset. Oh yeah. And if she had friends that lived like in Green Valley, like in Warm Springs and and um uh oh where the fire station is, I can't remember what the name of that road is. Um what I she she would go, uh if my friends live there, they lived out in the boondocks. That was insane to drive all the way out there, right? I mean, because there was nothing past there. Yeah. When I started working at PBS and J, we moved our office to the corporate, the the American Nevada Corporate Office Center across from Smith at the 215 and Lake Meet. But it was just a two-lane road of Lake Mead, and on the other side of Lake Mead on the south side was nothing. And yeah, we said, Why are we moving way out in the middle of nowhere? Uh that's nuts. What's wrong with you guys? And then all of a sudden this whole town comes up around you and you realize, wow, that's some real vision there, right? So it's changed so much. Oh yeah, and it changes so fast. Um and those folks who have been here, and I've been here now 30 years, and even I will wander out to a part of town and haven't been out in a while and go, Whoa, when did this happen? Yeah, this is what I do for a living, and I, you know, I should know better than to be surprised. But it changes so fast.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Um that you kind of got to keep going back and rediscovering areas you think you know because you don't know them, and they change.
SPEAKER_01Especially within Henderson. That's uh Especially within Henderson. We uh we are we seem to just keep growing and growing and it's good growth. Like if we point like you pointed out early on, I think in in our conversation, just like the way that the some of the visionaries that uh some of our early leaders had, the vision they had for the city and the things they set up, the the planning they set up and to to see the pl the city grow and the master plan the way it and master plan it the way it is laid out that you know they saw it, they saw what it could become, and um, but yeah, it's been it's been a good ride and there's a lot more to come.
Diverse Builders, Diverse Homes, Real Choice
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think Henderson, um uh I think good cities attract good developers. And when the city ha knows what it's doing and has its act together, uh that's where developers want to go do work because they can get things done. Yeah. And for any developer, uh I like to tell folks, I tell our residents all the time, we are in this to make money. Uh so uh while I know you would like me to be a nonprofit, we are in this to make money, as are your home builders. Uh we do have to make a profit. Um but we can we can do it if we do it faster, if we do it smarter, if we do it better. And I think Henderson's a great partner that who understands that. And so that attracts, I think, good developers. Um and Henderson has done a phenomenal job of laying out a plan and a vision of what they want and sticking to it, which I think is as important as laying out a good plan as then sticking to it, which can be hard, uh, because opportunities will come that maybe don't align with the vision, you have to say no to those. Um and it may be some short-term gain, but it may not be best long term. And I think the city's done a phenomenal job of sticking to their plan, um, thinking it through, developing a good plan, and then sticking to it. And I think that's the fruits of that labor are seen as you drive around the city all the time. You just can see that patience pay off. I think Water Street's a great example, right? The patience of paying off of getting that uh uh uh hockey arena down there and and and but uh just kind of slowly starting to transform the one side and it's just kind of worked its way all the way down, right? But it took some time and it took a lot of patience and they had to stick to their plan and not take short term gain. And and it's proven to be a very effective model if you have the patience and the intelligence to do that. Yeah. And I think City's been fortunate, they've had great leadership, not only the elected officials, but just in the staff. Um I think like us, you all have an amazing retention of staff. Uh I still look around at folks that I started working with 20 years ago and think, oh my gosh, my friends are in charge over there now. This is so there is uh, you know, it it is you know they're really good at what they do, but you still think, well, I knew them when they were back in the day. Yeah, I mean twenty-five years ago, I'm not sure any of us knew much of anything, right? But here we are. Um but that's I think an indication of how good the city is as a place to be, right? I mean, people go there and they they stay there, they and I think that's helped create and keep that vision for the city is having staff that's been there for a long time who that continuity of understanding what what the what the city wants and how they how they go about being successful um helps.
SPEAKER_01It definitely goes a long way. Uh have that continuity and the the connection and the the history that uh that goes that that is known and institutional knowledge, I guess, is what I'm looking for there.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and I like I said, right, we all make mistakes. If you learn from them, then it's okay. Yeah. Uh and I think as I think about the folks I deal with that down there now that have been there for 20 years, we we can all remember our mistakes, but we also go, well, we we better not do that again because we know how that'll work, right? And there's as much about what you don't do sometimes as about what you do. Um certainly I can I can think for us, uh I can think of the deals we didn't do as probably being as important as some of the land deals we did do. Um things that would have changed maybe how things had gone, but we were smart enough to say no um and stick to the plan.
SPEAKER_01Awesome. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to sit down with us and go over that uh your experiences and what you're you know, where you guys are at and what's going on. And um it's been uh eye-opening to kind of understand where you guys have come from and you know where where it's going uh to happen in the future. And kind of as a wrap-up, we've we ask all of our uh our guests a question. And usually it depends on uh depends on the answer, uh may get you in trouble. But uh what we like to to ask uh of all the restaurants on Water Street, is there one that you uh like to favor more than others?
Why Cadence Feels Different Without Walls
SPEAKER_03Uh so I'm gonna hedge myself here a bit. Uh my daughter loves wands more than anything else in the world. And so uh I go there a lot because my oldest, when she comes home from college, uh she wants to do two things. She wants to go to a hockey game and she wants to go to wands. So uh she loves wands and I do too. Yeah. Um uh I love biscuits and bourbon. Okay. Um the new Italian place next to uh on the south side is phenomenal. Yeah, phenomenal. Uh and I've only been there once, but it was phenomenal. And then I just was recently at uh it's not the boulevard anymore. It's the place next to the gas station at the end of that block. Oh gosh, the name slips my mind. The Boulevard. The Boulevard, okay, sorry, it is the Boulevard. Maybe it was something else that's a good one.
SPEAKER_01It used to be uh Hardaway age.
SPEAKER_03And it was yeah, and it was phenomenal. So I've now been there like three times in the last month uh because it's a convenient place uh to meet folks that are doing work on this side of town. So uh, but I've made uh it my business to go to all of them, and um I think they all offer something unique and great, right? They they just they just they do, right? I mean, i it's um again, it's what's really I think great about Water Street. There's a variety of things, there's something there for everybody. Yep. Um and there like I said, you just when you go in there, you end up running into the owner or one of the partners and you strike up a conversation. And uh I think we all kind of have similar stories, right? We're all kind of believers in East Henderson, we're all kind of invested a little bit emotionally and kind of making it work. We're all trying to figure out how to make it better and what can we do. And I think that's what makes it fun to go down there. Is they're all trying to do something that's really hard. Oh yeah. Um, but fun. Yeah. And they all have the passion for it.
Landwell’s Final Chapter And Commitments
SPEAKER_01So they do. Well, that was a very diplomatic answer. So great job. We agree. We agree with you. All those uh we do have a amazing uh group of restaurants and restaurant owners, and uh, we look forward to a lot uh a lot more to come down there so in the future. Yeah. Thanks again. Thank you. Welcome back from that interview with Lee Ferris. We uh really appreciated his time, and that was a wonderful opportunity to hear a lot about what was what is going on out at Cadence in the community there and the all the development that's happening and kind of some of the background and the history that came from that. And that was it was amazing how that community has really transformed and come about, uh, considering what it started out as, uh being settling ponds for the uh manufacturing and industrial um plants, and then turning that into uh a beautiful community. Uh Landwell has done, you know, been an amazing partner with the city in trying to transform and uh take what uh what has been historically um challenging properties and turning them into something that has become a benefit and uh um a real asset to the community. And so we really appreciate uh Landwell's vision and say Mark Paris's vision and landwells.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, otherwise that might have just sat as vacant land for eternity. And now it's a beautiful community.
SPEAKER_01And so that's uh that's kind of one of those highlights that we like to highlight as a redevelopment is that you know, with uh individuals who have a vision and a and an idea of of how to transform an area, you know, it can really can really come about and um and redevelopment is a big part of that. And so we like to highlight those types of projects and developments and how redevelopment can uh be a part of that that process. So any of you out there with big ideas, uh come talk to us. We'll we'll see what we can do.
SPEAKER_00But yeah, great example of how redevelopment can change the entire face of a community.
Small Team, Big Impact
SPEAKER_01Yeah. 2200 acres of it. Yeah. So that was a a big change. And it's only uh if if you haven't been on the east side of Henderson in a while, you should come down and and we always talk about Water Street, but even if you go past Water Street, you'll see uh on along Lake Mead a transformation happening that um with the new communities and uh new housing and commercial areas and um everything that's going on. And in the future, you one of another areas is like the Lakemore Canyon Master Plan Community, which is another old uh mine site that is being remediated and cleaned up. And uh one of these days we'll we'll track someone down from that community to talk to, maybe, and get their insights on on how to how uh that transformation has taken place. But yeah, a lot going on here on the east side of Henderson. Come check it out. Uh you'll even enjoy the traffic and the construction along Boulder Highway, since that is under uh under transformational uh process right now of going from what we see today as big three-lane, six-lane road to only four lanes and center running transit. It'll be a that'll be a huge impact to that corridor. A lot easier to get across, that's for sure. But enough of that. We appreciate your time. We appreciate you listening in. And again, if you have uh need to reach out to us, you can always uh get on our website, city of Henderson.com slash redevelop that, and you can reach out to our email addresses are on there, and uh we'd be more than happy to to talk with you and uh discuss redevelopment. And again, always a plug that if there's a you're a business owner and you uh in a redevelopment area here in the city and you'd like to be a guest on our show, we would love to have the opportunity to come meet with you. So please reach out and again that you can just uh you can uh on redevelop that on our website at city of Henderson.com slash redevelop that you can uh reach out and get in contact with us.
SPEAKER_00And so with that make sure you come back for some of the cool episodes we have on the horizon, also.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we have some good interviews coming up, and so we'll uh keep checking back and keep looking, checking your email for the announcements of when those episodes are released. And uh we look forward to hearing from you. Enjoy the rest of your day, everybody, and until next time. Thanks.
