Tribe seeking proposals for development of Fallon land

The Fallon Tribal Development Corp. last week began scouting development proposals for a 37-acre property it owns on the east side of the city.

The corporation, which handles economic development for the Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe, left the door wide open for proposals, saying it will look at anything from retail to residential uses on the property. Industrial also is a possibility.

The land is along Highway 50 at the east side of Fallon, just west of Banner Churchill Community Hospital.

A 2.5-acre piece of the tribe's property has been developed as a convenience store, smoke shop and gas station, and a nationally branded fast-food restaurant is expected to open there early this year.

Lance Shumway, an economic developer with Fallon Tribe Development Corp., said he began fielding calls seeking more information within the first days after the request for proposals hit the street.

The tribe is talking with major development companies and commercial real estate brokerages throughout northern Nevada. (To get a copy of the request, contact Shumway at 775-423-6075 or ftdcassist@fpst.org)

Ideally, Shumway said, the tribe would like to see retail development of the property because stores generate sales tax that go into the tribe's coffers.

But Gerry Emm, another economic developer with the tribe, noted that most recent retail development in Fallon has come on the west side of town. That history, he said, may present a hurdle to retail development of the tribe's land.

The land is available for lease for up to 99 years. A development proposal probably will be selected by early March.

Emm and Shumway began working for the development corporation about eight months ago, and they've been knocking on doors and gathering thoughts about possible directions for the property ever since.

"Now it's time to go," Emm said.

The Fallon Tribal Development Corp. also has begun negotiations to buy strategically important pieces of property in the Fallon area that will help create parcels that make sense for development, Emm said.