Food Bank realizes decade-old dream with distribution center

Nearly a decade ago, Food Bank of Northern Nevada began planning seriously for a new distribution center.

But executives of the nonprofit aren't breathing sighs of relief even though Panattoni Construction started work a few days ago on a 60,000-square-foot distribution center at Tahoe Reno Industrial Center east of Sparks.

Although the Food Bank won an $8.2 million grant two years ago from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, its leaders still are hustling to raise $6.4 million more that they need for construction not to mention nearly $3 million endowments for building maintenance and operating costs.

The Food Bank currently operates in 23,000 square feet of leased space at 994 Packer Way in Sparks.

Cherie Jamason, president and chief executive officer of the Food Bank, said the organization in the early 1990s made a commitment to owning its own facility, rather than leasing space. Outright ownership, she said, will allow the organization to improve its cash flow and increase its financial stability.

But nailing down a site proved difficult, particularly as industrial land grew scarce in the Reno-Sparks area and prices rose sharply during this decade.

Donations from Roy Walker and the Robert Ferrari family set the stage for the Food Bank to acquire a nine-acre parcel at TRIC. About 3.5 acres of the property will be developed immediately.

Architect Don Clark of Cathexes in Reno undertook some of the initial planning for a new distribution center for the Food Bank, and Stuart Feldman of Hershenow + Klippenstein Architects is designing the current project. Project manager is Don Smit of Project One.

The concrete tilt-up building is scheduled for completion in early 2008.

The distribution center will serve nonprofit agencies in an 80,000-square-mile area in 13 Nevada counties and seven counties in eastern California.