When a Fortune 500 company builds a Class A office campus, they don’t cut corners — and neither do we. CSA Partners was engaged to study two of this technology company’s new office buildings in Los Gatos, California in 2017, totaling over 106,000 square feet on nearly 5 acres of meticulously landscaped grounds.
The finish quality here was exceptional — which meant the cost basis was substantial, and the stakes for getting the reclassification right were high. Our team identified just over 31% of the property eligible for accelerated depreciation, shifting several million dollars off the 39-year schedule and dramatically improving operational cash flow for the year.
The most memorable part of the study? Counting — and individually documenting — more than 58,000 trees and shrubs across the property as qualifying 15-year site improvements. That’s the kind of detail work that separates a thorough engineering study from a desktop estimate, and exactly the kind of effort that holds up if the IRS ever comes knocking.
Big clients. Big properties. Big results — and apparently, a lot of landscaping.