Retail chases development of residential

Retail chased northern Nevada's surging population out in almost all directions this year - following it into northwest Reno, Spanish Springs, Reno's South Meadows, Carson City,Minden, and towns beyond.

"We seem to be on the radar of a lot of companies now, more than ever before," says Reed Simmons, chairman of the board of trustees of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada."We're very active for relocating business and expanding business, including the regions of Fernley, Dayton and Gardnerville."

"The retail inventory base increased to roughly 11 million square feet (excluding regional malls) during the year," says Roxanne Stevenson, vice president, retail services group and Nevada commercial group, Grubb & Ellis.

And the overall vacancy rate declined to 5.4 percent a full percentage point lower than the year before.

The Reno/Sparks area alone constructed 600,000 square feet of retail in six new centers, Kelly Bland of Colliers International said at the firm's commercial real estate forecast this month.

And retailers came to the table ready to pay $1.40 to $1.85 per square foot on existing, anchored centers and $2.25 to $2.75 on new square footage, says Stevenson.

The northwest Reno area saw a wave of new retail, beginning with Sharon Square, developed by Ricks & Associates at the Robb Drive exit from Interstate 80.

Its Scolari's supermarket anchor was one of the first to open in the area,with the rest of the retail shops, restaurants and a First Independent Bank currently nearing completion.

Meanwhile, nearby McQueen's Crossing, anchored by Raley's, is newly up and running.

Across the street from that, The Ribeiro Companies are building office and retail space.

What made the difference was Somersett, with 1,600 rooftops planned for completion by the end of 2005 - roughly 60 percent of its future buildout.

Also in the Northwest, the McCarran and Mae Anne area underwent transformation with the opening of a Walmart superstore a bump to neighboring centers, such as the Canyon Center, which added restaurants and is currently headed for phase three,with hopes of a Walgreen's, and a 2005 construction start, says the center's developer Ed Ricks.

"We're just about done with retail in the northwest," says Joel Grace, Colliers International associate."Future potential lies further west off I-80."

And to the east in Spanish Springs.

Overall, the Reno/Sparks area has about 3 million square feet of proposed new construction, says Stevenson.

And of that, the majority five major shopping centers is planned for Spanish Springs.

The Sparks Galleria under construction and scheduled to open about the end of 2005 brings 642,000 square feet of retail to the Spanish Springs area.

On its heels, the AIG Baker development, Sparks Crossing, also in Spanish Springs, is slated for a 2006 opening of 300,000 square feet of retail, according to Stevenson.

And the 660,000-square-foot Town Center West,with Kohl's, is scheduled for a super WalMart opening in 2005.

The south Reno area is a surging area, too, with current construction on South Virginia Commons and Damonte Ranch Town Center - plus, the new, 700,000 square-foot Sierra Summit lifestyle center, an upscale shopping mecca eagerly anticipated by the area's shoppers.

And there's more, including the retail developments at the north entrance into Carson City, and - the list goes on, including downtown Reno condominium conversions devoting first-floor space to restaurant and retail.

Could northern Nevada be moving from retail-challenged to over-retailed? Not likely, according to Bland."Retail projects are being built far in excess of the population growth rate," he said, but Colliers is expecting "a continued influx from Californians which will fuel demand for additional retail projects." The California relocations are a spur, adds Stevenson, along with another factor not usually taken into account in retail ratios -- the area's retailers draw from a 50-mile radius, she estimates.

Add to that the annual influx of tourist shoppers, and you have a healthy retail environment.