200 acres on the northeast corner of Denmark Drive and USA Parkway could become downtown area of the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center. It will include hotels, retail and restaurants, and even a casino.
"We're going to be a town center that will rival anywhere," Lance Gilman, Principal of Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center said.
The industrial center does not have any residential housing but Gilman says there is still a demand from the towns that surround the park.
"You're going to have your downtown in the center of TRI that's in the center of what I call the northern Nevada trade area," Gilman said.
TRI has lured companies like Tesla, Google and SWITCH, rivaling the tech companies in Silicon Valley. There is also international demand, with visitors, business executives and workers coming from other areas.
"They're going to need that quality of life to hotel it and restaurant it and do the business they have to do in Tahoe-Reno Industrial," Gilman said. "We need a downtown and it'll be significant."
The land currently is the home of a small, man-made reservoir. The plan is to make that reservoir much larger and build the Tahoe Reno Towne Center around it.
"Rather than just a reservoir behind a dam, it's actually going to be a beautification project and there will be fountains and streams and waterfalls," Gilman said. "A beautiful lake with biking around it and jogging paths and bistros and flagship hotels.
Gilman says the development will have an modern and sophisticated feel to it, with an international flare.
"Probably kind of an Asian flavor in a lot of it because Panasonic is there and hiring so many folks from Japan," Gilman said.
Encore Commercial, Inc. is planning the development and Gilman says the company comes to northern Nevada with a good resume.
"They've been involved in some of the pristine properties in Las Vegas," Gilman said. "They are true production folks. They know how to put this thing together."
The project is still in the conceptual phase but Gilman says crews have already started grading some of the land. He expects construction to begin in the coming months.
"I think you'll probably see 2-4 hotels in the area within the next 12 months and that's just one particular element," Gilman said.
The plan comes during tremendous growth at TRI. Gilman expects companies to move into the park for the next decade, possibly filling the available lots.
