The supply chain issues that have pummeled the construction industry did not spare the electrical and instrumentation contractor at a new supermarket being built in Spanish Springs. The 80,000-square-foot Winco being built just south of La Posada Drive will give the more than 15,000 residents of Spanish Springs an additional grocery store where options have been historically limited to Save Mart off La Posada, and the Walmart and Costco closer to Sparks. Sprouts Farmers Market entered the mix in 2018. Raheeb Kased, senior project manager for electrical contractor Newtron, said his company was tasked with installation and wiring of all electrical aspects of the project, from light fixtures to new electrical panels, interior and exterior lighting, and all the mechanical and refrigeration units common in supermarkets. “It’s a supermarket, so we are talking about a lot of refrigeration and refrigerators and condensing units to keep things cool,” Kased told NNBW in a recent interview. The store also included more than 25 check stands that had to be wired. Difficulties – especially in procuring concrete – began cropping up last summer as the job got underway. “The biggest issues were also very critical,” Kased said. “When you finish (the) underground (work), you want to cast in place concrete so you can start building the structure – if you can’t get the roof dried in, you can’t start the interior buildout. Delays in procuring concrete from regional batch plants due to a lack of raw materials from July through September pushed the start of the interior buildout into November through January, Kased said. Newtron expected to be finished by December, but completion of electrical work was pushed back to April due to the supply chain delays. “There were delays across the board – concrete, roofing materials and mechanical refrigeration equipment. Deadlines were constantly being pushed and trucks couldn’t deliver materials,” Kased said. The unforeseen and uncontrollable setbacks were felt especially hard by the Newtron electrical team, he added. “We are in charge of getting it all running. We have to wire everything up, from the lights in the bathroom to the plug for the slicer that’s going to cut cheese and meat. Every little piece is critical for us to finish our job. We worked very closely with our partners to ensure we met our goals.” Newtron in mid-April was in the commissioning and integration phase, making sure the countless electrical aspects of the new store are working correctly.
Courtesy Newtron The new 80,000-square-foot Winco being built just south of La Posada Drive.
“With the strong leadership we have and the expertise of the craftsmen, we were able to come up with a plan to execute,” Kased said. “We had a lot of issues to deal with, but we worked together as a team with the general contractor, our client and the other subcontractors that were involved to get to the finish line.” In other retail news, Northern Nevada largely shook off the effects of the pandemic and ensuing labor shortages, ending 2021 with a total net absorption of 222,000 square feet, Colliers International reported. The $111 million of investment sales also was the most investment money injected into the market in the past four years. New additions to the market include West End at Keystone Avenue, which opened near the end of the year with a Chipotle, Firehouse Subs, Mountain Mike's Pizza and In-N-Out Burger. The retail sector will be further bolstered by this summer’s opening of Reno Public Market at Plumb Lane and South Virginia Street. Work also continues on the Oddie District, a 155,000-square-foot renovation project at the old Lowe’s building. The long-awaited Skypoint project at McCarran Boulevard and South Virginia Street also is expected to break ground in 2022. Other big projects on the radar that could further reshape the retail landscape in Northern Nevada include Legends Bay Casino in Sparks, Reno Experience District at the old Park Lane Mall site, and Reno City Center at the former Harrah’s building. The last two projects are both being developed by CIA Investments, which also purchased the 128,000-square-foot building that houses Cabela’s by Boomtown in the fourth quarter of last year for $39 million. Cabela’s lease on the facility runs through 2044. Other notable properties that changed hands were South Meadows Promenade, which sold for $34 million. The center is anchored by Sprouts, Marshall’s and Pet Station. Village at Double Diamond, anchored by Smith’s Food and Drug, sold for $20.1 million, Colliers reported
Courtesy Newtron 