The Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center has been steadily growing for the past 15 years. Developers say it will only grow more after Tesla's giant battery factory was approved, last week.
"You're going to see a lot of construction jobs out here and that will be instant gratification," Lance Gilman, Principal of TRI said. "Then during next year, we're going to see a lot of transaction put together."
Gilman says Tesla's $5 billion gigafactory is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the area's potential. During last week's Special Session, he was getting about one call every hour from companies that are looking into moving here.
"I'm flying to Las Vegas, Tuesday, to meet with a company that's more high-tech and perhaps even more of a win for our economy than Tesla," Gilman said.
Interest has been coming from around the world, including a Belgian company that visited, this week. TRI takes up more than 100,000 acres. That's bigger than the combined city limits of Reno and Sparks.
"If we just do the first 5,000 acres, that's 50,000 jobs," Gilman said. "How high is up? I don't think we can really tell, right now."
Manufacturing is expected to follow. Distribution is already booming, with companies like Walmart, eBay and PetSmart.
"Nevada is in a sweet spot for distribution to the western United States because we can reach the majority of the western market with overnight truck delivery," Gilman said.
Another major project is the extension of USA Parkway. The state will buy the right-of-way for $43 million. They will extend the four-lane road about nine miles down a gravel road to US 50. That will give access to workers in Dayton, Silver Springs, and even Yerington. It could also ease traffic congestion on Interstate 80 and provide an easier trucking route.
"Instead of the trucks having to come out and go east or west and then down 395 or down 95 Alternate, they'll be able to go straight south to Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles and point south," Gilman said.
That is one more piece to the puzzle that Gilman says will help diversify the economy of northern Nevada.
