USA Properties Fund Inc. has a long-standing commitment to helping communities.
But the latest project was a bit of a new challenge.
“We like to get involved in projects to give back to our communities, but this was a little out of the norm,” said David Farquhar, general superintendent for USA Properties Fund.
Indeed, USA Properties became aware of a need for new men’s showers at the Mary Isaak Center in Petaluma. The center’s showers were in bad shape and organization officials looked for options.
“It was just a mess. The showers basically run all day long,” admits Mike Johnson, chief operating officer for the Committee on the Shelterless (COTS), part of the Mary Isaak Center. “But the money to do it right wasn’t there.”
USA Properties Fund, which was working on the recently completed and nearby Vintage Chateau II in Petaluma, agreed to take on the almost $40,000 showers project. A 20-person team of participants – many who were not familiar with building commercial showers – handled the one-month project.
Farquhar and Johnson give the just-completed shower project high marks.
“It’s all concrete, and will last forever – it’s bulletproof,” said Johnson, adding more than 100 men use the showers daily. “It’s spectacular.”
“The final project is gorgeous, it’s like a custom home,” Farquhar said.
Mary Isaak Center and COTS officials were so impressed with USA Properties’ construction efforts, they asked the Roseville-based company to oversee another project – building the new women’s showers at the center.
“It’s kind of hit or miss you get the skills you need” for projects, Johnson said. “Having a contactor come in, from soup to nuts, that just doesn’t happen.”
But USA Properties Fund is a different kind of company.
“It’s been a great experience,” Farquhar said. “We like to get involved in community programs – and it’s a wonderful organization.”
Without the company’s in-kind donation, the center’s new men’s and women’s showers wouldn’t have happened.
“We would never have it done otherwise,” Johnson said. “We’re very grateful.”
