Reno Diversifies
Warehouses, Tech Replacing Gambling
By Tony Illia

Yes, Reno is a place for quickie divorces and gambling, but construction projects are also a good bet in and around the city.

Its proximity to Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 395 has long made Reno a key area for transporting manufactured goods and several industrial facilities have been built in the area.

"Industrial is moving outside of the main valley due to a lack of land availability and price," said Doug Roberts, a partner of Panattoni Construction Inc. "Although the last two years have been fairly soft, the activity level has increased since late last year."

The firm is currently building the $70 million, 2-million-sq.-ft. Lear Industrial Park on 100 acres on Echo Avenue in Stead, 13 mi. north of Reno. The 10-building big-box complex is scheduled for build-out in 2010.

advertisement

Blakely Panattoni is also constructing the $34 million, 843,000-sq.-ft. Red Rock Business Center on 52 acres in Fernley. The four-building concrete tilt-wall complex is scheduled for build-out by the end of this year.

Public works remains a robust construction segment with undertakings such as the $32 million, 167,527-sq.-ft. Mills B. Lane Justice Center, a joint-use facility housing the Washoe County District Attorney offices and the Reno Municipal Court.

Designed by Tate Snyder Kimsey Architects of Henderson, the eight-story building will be connected to the building at 1 S. Sierra Street, which houses the Reno Justice Court, Washoe County Family Court and other County court-related offices. The new building is scheduled for completion September 2005.

Additionally, the county is finishing the second $2.3 million phase of the North Valley Sports Complex at Silver Lake and Sky Vista boulevards in Stead. The project calls for a soccer complex, four little league-size fields, play equipment, a shade shelter and parking areas. Gradex Construction Co., Inc. of Reno is the contractor.

Washoe County is also spending $10 million to upgrade 15 sites along the Truckee River with new flood plains, a more natural river topography, improved public access and water quality enhancements.

Q&D Construction Inc. of Reno, is building the $28.9 million, 118,000-sq.-ft. Reno Events Center between Fourth and Fifth streets downtown, north of the National Bowling Stadium. Designed by TVS Architecture and Worth Group, the two-story multi-purpose facility consists of 55,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space with retracted, telescopic stadium seating, plus 4,954 sq. ft. worth of meeting rooms and suites.

The redevelopment project is scheduled to open by Jan. 1. It is a public-private partnership between the City of Reno, the Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority and NEWCO, a group of downtown casino stakeholders that include Harrah''s, Silver Legacy, El Dorado and Circus Circus.

"We are now seeing a swing towards private sector work as well as public work," said Kim Coulter, spokesperson for United Construction Co. Inc., Reno. "Companies are growing and thriving, and there are needs for expansions."

For example, the 1,962-acre master-planned mixed-use DaMonte Ranch development in southwest Reno calls for 350 acres of commercial space, 1,162 acres of residential, 173 acres of public amenities and 277 acres of greenbelts.

There are several major road projects in the area. Granite Construction is teaming with Q&D Construction Co. of, Reno, to build the new $34.9 million interchange on U.S. 395 at McCarran Boulevard and Clear Acre Lane in Reno.

CH2M Hill is the engineering/design firm. Scheduled to finish June 2006, the project calls for construction of two new bridges and on/off ramps as well as drainage systems improvements, paving and electrical signage.

Granite's portion of the contract is approximately $25 million.

Frehner Construction Co. Inc. of North Las Vegas is updating and expanding the I-80/U.S. 395 ""Spaghetti Bowl," which sees more than 233,000 vehicles a day. The $65.6 million project, designed by the Louis Berger Group Inc., of East Orange, N. J., calls for 1.7- million sq. ft. of concrete and asphalt paving, six seismic bridge retrofits, a new onramp, a ramp reconfiguration, a 7,000-cu.-yd. detention basin, two new bridges and 7 mi. of soundwalls.

Once it's finished in August 2005, the project will expand freeway capacity by one to two travel lanes in each direction, resulting in a 15 percent capacity improvement.