Nevada’s largest commercial construction projects reflect a diverse cross-section of the state’s business community, from large tourism undertakings and infrastructure development to an abundant selection of corporate facilities for both new and expanding businesses.
In Reno, a remodeling and expansion of the major highway interchange will bring the traffic system into the 21st century and help accommodate additional future growth. In Las Vegas, construction on the first major Las Vegas Strip resort since the building surge of 1998 and 1999 may be the stimulus for a wave of new hotel-casinos planned for the next decade.
Northern Nevada is benefiting from the uncertain economic status currently being experienced in California. This has been a boon to commercial real estate developers, whose business parks and corporate office centers are finding a ready list of potential tenants, primarily companies relocating to the South Reno market to escape an unfriendly business climate in the Golden State.
“The market is definitely there for this type of product,” said Tim Ruffin, the managing partner of Colliers International, who is overseeing development and leasing of two large corporate office centers in Reno. “Nevada’s tax structure is much more conducive to business [than California] and Reno is in close proximity to Northern California.”
In Southern Nevada, Richard Worthington, president of The Molasky Group of Companies, one of Nevada’s oldest and most successful real estate development teams, echoed the observation seen in the north. “California has a push factor in terms of business, and companies are leaving,” Worthington said. “Nevada has a pull factor, and we’re doing everything right in bringing them here. Despite what some people think about a softening economy, Las Vegas is still seeing tremendous growth. I had an inquiry recently from a law firm that may need to lease 50,000 square feet of office space. That’s a phenomenal figure at any time.”
Southern Nevada’s largest commercial projects suggest a continued growth in all areas of the economy, from increased tourism and entertainment to a sustained influx of new business development and business relocation opportunities. Much of that development centers on the expansion of Interstate 215, the Las Vegas Beltway.
James Stuart, president of CENTRA Properties, LLC, which is building the CENTRA Point office park, said his project’s location near I-215 “has garnered so much attention because of its central location, being an equal distance to both Summerlin and Green Valley, the two largest employment bases in the state.”
Projects that will see significant development in Nevada during 2004 include:
NORTHERN NEVADA
U.S. 395-Interstate 80 Interchange (Reno/Sparks Spaghetti Bowl)
At a price tag of $53 million, the improvements to Reno’s major freeway interchange will increase the number of total lanes for several miles, upgrade the on-ramps and off-ramps in all directions and include numerous enhancements, such as nine miles of sound walls, new lighting and signage, pavement rehabilitation and seismic retrofitting. The bulk of the project is funded through federal gasoline taxes.
“This is a project that has long been needed,” said Scott Magruder, public information officer for the Nevada Department of Transportation. “We began work on the project in 2002, and 2004 should be a tremendous year of construction on the interchange.”
Magruder said the project will be completed in 2005. The Reno Spaghetti Bowl, he added, handles more than 223,000 vehicles daily. When completed, it is expected to accomodate more than 250,000 vehicles per day.
ReTRAC
Reno’s largest-ever public works project, the $264 million ReTRAC venture will isolate trains from vehicle traffic in the downtown corridor through a 2.1-mile, 33-foot deep trench, by diverting the railroad below the streets. The first major phase of the project is 2.6 miles of temporary (shoofly) tracks in which trains will run while the trench is being built. The shoofly is expected to open in late April and construction of the trench begins in May, said Dante Pistone, spokesperson for ReTRAC, an acronym for Reno Transportation Rail Access Corridor.
In addition to two new mainline tracks to permit maximum train speeds of 60 miles per hour, 11 street-crossing bridges above the trench will be built. ReTRAC is slated for completion in spring 2006. Financial support comes from a variety of resources, including federal, state and local funds, as well as the Union Pacific Railroad.
Northern Nevada Corporate Center – Mountain View Corporate Centre
Colliers International is leasing Two major office parks in south Reno that are taking full advantage of businesses relocating into Nevada. The Northern Nevada Corporate Center, located along Highway 395 near South Meadows Parkway and Double R Boulevard, will consist of five buildings totaling almost 250,000 square feet. The first phase is expected to open in April. The site is also earmarked for a Hampton Inn hotel. Colliers is also handling the 30-acre Mountain View Corporate Centre, which has plans for several office buildings near the intersection of Del Monte Lane and Kietzke Lane off Highway 395.
Reno Tahoe Technical Center
Located next to the Northern Nevada Corporate Center, the 70-acre Reno Tahoe Technology Center is billed by its developers as a true office campus with sophisticated technology and a fiber-optic network built into its facilities. Brett Seabert of Tanamera Commercial, the company behind the center, said one building has been completed and approximately 80 percent leased and a second building will be constructed this year.
In total, the center will include up to 240,000 square feet of office space, in addition to the Sierra Vista Office Campus, a 171,000-square-foot office park adjacent to the center. Retail and restaurant development are also part of plans for the site.
SOUTHERN NEVADA
Wynn Las Vegas
To Wall Street gaming industry analysts, construction of the $2 billion, 2,800-room Wynn Las Vegas is expected to be the catalyst toward a new building wave along the venerable Las Vegas Strip. Wynn Las Vegas – developed by Mirage and Bellagio developer Steve Wynn – is the first new casino-resort to rise on the famous thoroughfare since the 1998-1999 openings of four major properties encompassing 12,000 rooms.
Wynn Las Vegas is expected to open in 2005 with the bulk of the resort taking shape throughout 2004. The signature design feature is a 100-foot-tall man-made mountain rising at the front of the property along the Las Vegas Strip and highlighted by a small lagoon, several water pools and specially-designed lighting visible from the resort.
The 50-story hotel will include a 95,000-sqaure-foot casino, 18 restaurants, a 2,100-seat showroom, 77,500 square feet of retail space, 200,000 square feet of convention space, an art gallery displaying works from Wynn’s personal collection, an 18-hole golf course on the site of the former Desert Inn Country Club, and a full-service Ferrari and Maserati dealership.
Las Vegas Springs Preserve
Located three miles west of downtown off U.S. Highway 95, the Las Vegas Springs Preserve will tell the story of the true beginnings of life in the Valley. The $175 million historical project opens to visitors in 2005 and will include self-guided tours, interpretive stations and museum-quality exhibits. It is expected to attract 500,000 annual visitors, both locals and tourists.
Managed by a public-private partnership, the 180-acre Las Vegas Springs Preserve will include five themed components: a Visitor Center, the Desert Living Center and Gardens, a natural preserve and trail system, a desert wetlands area and a facility for the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society.
Jesse Davis, public information officer for the project, said construction has already begun on the Desert Living Center, the focal point of the first phase, which will offer educational outreach activities. The Desert Living Center will include a seven-acre conservation garden using desert landscaping and promoting responsible water usage.
Las Vegas Technology Center II
The Thomas and Mack Development Group is building a $125 million mixed-use business park in northwest Las Vegas that will house more than 1 million square feet of commercial space. The Las Vegas Technology Center II is located at Buffalo Drive and Smoke Ranch Road just off U.S. 95. The development is expected to total 20 buildings comprised of “back office production center” offices, flex uses and some Class A and Class B Commercial.
The Las Vegas Tech Center II is anchored by Nevada Title Company. Tim Snow, president of TMDG, said he anticipates a mix of tenants at the center, primarily financial, insurance and real estate companies. TMDG estimates businesses at the center will employ a daytime workforce of approximately 5,000 people.
CENTRA Point
Phase I of the $55 million CENTRA Point office park opened in February with three buildings totaling approximately 150,000 square feet. A joint venture between CENTRA Properties, LLC and Panattoni Development, the 21-acre master-planned project will eventually include 300,000 square feet and feature six, two- and three-story buildings, ranging in size from 41,000 square feet to 60,000 square feet. Each building will contain a main central lobby. Located on the north side of I-215 and Durango Drive, the project is in a new growth corridor.
Craig Distribution Center
At 500,000 square feet, the Craig Distribution Center, built by CENTRA Properties, has a 95 percent occupancy rate in the first two phases with a tenant roster that includes Wal-Mart, Whirlpool, RC Willey and Las Vegas Stone Container. The project is located at Craig Road and Flossmoor near Nellis Air Force Base. The final phase is due for completion at year’s end, adding an additional 335,000 square feet.
Rainbow Sunset Pavilion
Plise Development Companies is building a $120 million, 480,000-square-foot mixed-use office and retail property, located at the southwest corner of Interstate 215 and Rainbow Boulevard. The 23-acre master-planned professional office park will feature five buildings varying between two, three and four stories. The site includes retail and restaurant space and a bank pad with drive-through access.
The first phase is scheduled for completion and occupancy this summer and will include three buildings totaling approximately 62,000 square feet of contemporary office and retail space.
Beltway Business Park
The first phase of this project – bordered by Interstate 215, Jones Boulevard and Decatur Boulevard – was completed last year with the opening of GES Exposition Services, an 850,000-square-foot building. project.
Developed jointly by the Thomas & Mack Development Group and Majestic Realty Company, the second phase will include two light-industrial flex office buildings totaling 102,450 square feet.
SouthPointe – Grandview Las Vegas
Located on the far south end of Las Vegas Boulevard, the 200-acre site zoned H1 could house numerous types of commercial development, from high-rise office space to retail. Kevin Higgins of Voit Commercial Brokerage said About 100 acres of the parcel was were sold to two companies: Coast Resorts, which is planning on developing the Southcoast Casino project, and the Berkley Timeshare Group, which is developing Grandview Las Vegas, a timeshare complex.
Jeff Manning of the Penta Group, which is building the timeshares, said Phase I of the Grandview – two 198,000-square-foot buildings – should be completed by October. The $45 million first phase will also include a 22,000-square-foot sales center.
Metropolis
Construction began in January on a 71-unit upscale art-deco-designed condominium tower on Desert Inn Road that will have views of the new Wynn Las Vegas golf course. The high-rise will feature custom-built lofts and flats, averaging 2,500 square feet, with prices starting at $400,000 and going up to $1.7 million for the 4,500-square-foot 17th-floor penthouse.
The project by Houston developer Randall Davis introduces the loft living concept to Las Vegas. Some units have 20-foot loft ceilings built with a style reminiscent of the 1920s.
World Market Center
Phase I of the World Market Center – an integrated home and hospitality contract furnishings showroom and convention center complex – is under construction on a 57-acre parcel in downtown Las Vegas and is expected to open in July 2005.
The first phase encompasses a $200 million, 1.3 million-square-foot permanent showroom facility that has been pre-leased to 235 companies spanning all categories of the home furnishings industry.
When completed, World Market Center will house 7.5 million square feet and cost $1 billion. The complex will serve the international furnishings industry, showcasing furniture, decorative accessories, lighting, area rugs and related segments, as well as a Design Center open year-round to the trade.
Internal Revenue Service Building
Construction began in January on a $17 million office building that will become the Las Vegas headquarters for the Internal Revenue Service. Mayor Oscar Goodman believes it will start a new wave of downtown redevelopment at the 61 acres of land once owned by Union Pacific Railroad.
The Molasky Group of Companies is building the four-story, 92,000-square-foot building, which will have a contemporary classical theme and various environmental features. In addition to the IRS, the General Services Administration and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service will lease offices. The building, which will be completed in December, is situated in the heart of the redevelopment area near the new Las Vegas Premium Outlet mall.
Outlook North and South
Across the state, several projects are in their initial stages, with second and third phases planned in 2005 and beyond. In Northern Nevada, development experts believe projects will continue to be focused in the south Reno corridor. In the Las Vegas Valley, statistics discussed during the recent Preview Las Vegas 2004 event indicated the remaining 76,000 acres of developable land will be consumed in eight to 10 years. Until then, developers and builders will be kept busy with commercial projects large and small.
