NEVADA is expected to add 528,000 people over the next two decades, for a population of 3.3 million. That’s led by an estimated 328,000-person bump in Clark County and an estimated 147,000-person gain in Washoe County (Reno/Sparks/Incline Village, Lake Tahoe).
State demographer Jeff Hardcastle circulated a draft of his predictions on Sept. 1, but he said news later that month about Tesla’s gigafactory shuffled the numbers and prompted an update. “The potential impacts on the communities of northern Nevada in terms of economic and population changes will be significant,” Hardcastle wrote about Tesla’s move.
Drone maker Ashima Devices’ move from California to Washoe County and an Amazon.com warehouse’s move from Lyon County to Washoe County also shook up the numbers.But northern Nevada, where the gigafactory will be built, is expected to feel the most direct impact from Tesla.
Hardcastle’s revised predictions for 2032 show Washoe County’s population will be 18,000 people over what it would have been without Tesla, in part because many workers at the Tesla factory are expected to live in the Reno area, where housing is more abundant, and commute to the site in small.
To prepare for the growth, Washoe County is organizing an economic development planning committee that’s set to convene later this month, county Manager John Slaughter said. Their findings will determine how many more police officers, schools, homes and public workers the county will need.
“There really is an excitement in the region,” Slaughter said. “Certainly it’s going to present challenges, but they’re challenges that we can deal with.” “In the 1800s, Storey County was the richest place on earth because of the Comstock Lode, gold and silver,” said Lance Gilman, 69, who bought the land for the industrial park with a partner for $20 million in the late 1990s. “Then it became poor. Now, maybe it will be the richest place again.”
“There’s a tsunami coming in,” Gilman said referring to the businesses, developers and workers occupying the place someday. The site, already partly occupied by warehouses and distribution facilities for Wal-Mart, Amazon and Federal Express, is where Leon Musk’s electric car maker Tesla Motors plans a factory to make batteries, helped by more than $1 billion of incentives provided by Nevada.
Out on the horizon, just past the boundaries of the industrial park, can be seen the red-tiled roofs of the Mustang Ranch, the first licensed brothel in Nevada. This dry, desolate slice of Storey County is where the old Nevada, symbolized by adult entertainment like gambling and prostitution, meets a new Nevada, where high-tech manufacturing and distribution businesses built on an immense scale may restore some of the state’s fabled wealth.
The Tesla deal, negotiated by Sandoval in hope of bringing as many as 22,000 jobs to the state, includes a $5 billion factory to produce lithium ion batteries for electric cars. Tesla alone may employ 6,500 people at the new plant, 20 miles east of Reno. In the past three years, 50 companies have moved to the area, helping cut unemployment in half and restoring some life to a town that calls itself “The Biggest Little City in the World”.
The land where the Tesla plant will be built is an undeveloped portion of the massive industrial park, fully zoned for a commercial center, including seven miles of its own private railroad tracks, a lake for recycled water to use in production, fiber-optic cable already laid throughout and roads planned and approved. The location is next to Interstate 80, a transcontinental highway than runs from New York to San Francisco.
As soon as the deal was announced, real estate brokers began fielding calls, and job-seekers like Wilson sent out resumes. Companies wanting to work with Tesla have been scouting locations, and community colleges and training centers are trying to figure out how to prepare for the new residents and jobs. Tesla will need plenty of help with human resources as it moves to hire and provide benefits for 6,500 people.
In Washoe County, where Reno is located, public school officials held hasty meetings to plan for a possible influx of new children.
Started by Elon Musk, an early PayPal investor and founder of the private space travel company Spacex, Tesla Motors is based in Palo Alto, California, and employs about 6,000 people, according to its website. Its cars are built in the San Francisco suburb of Fremont.
Tesla said it lost $62 million in the second quarter, when they delivered 7,579 vehicles. The company says it’s on track to deliver 35,000 cars by the end of 2014. A Tesla Model S retails for $71,070, according to the Tesla website.
Storey County officials say they don’t want residential development near the site, a decision that means residents, business owners and local authorities in nearby Reno, Sparks and Fernley will likely be big beneficiaries of the jobs and money brought to town by Tesla.
“Our grocery stores are going to do well. Our clothing stores are going to do well,” said Reno mayor Bob Cashell. “They’re going to live here.”
Cashell views his town as the last outpost of a megalopolis that begins 220 miles away in San Francisco, and includes Sacramento and Reno. Many residents once lived in the San Francisco Bay Area or in Sacramento, and in its heyday Reno relied on visitors from the most populous U.S. state to gamble in its casinos.
But as in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, casinos in Reno declined as gaming became legal in other places, dropping from 25 percent of the economy to about 8 percent, said Mike Kazmierski, president of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada.
“Our casino gaming industry has stabilized and they are slowly coming out of the recession, but they will not return to the levels they were at years ago when Nevada was the only state where you could gamble legally,” Kasmierski said.
At dusk on a recent weeknight, Reno’s trademark neon sign glowed pink and gold, standing out against the blue-gray sky like a living painting. The Truckee River glistening with people strolling and enjoying Reno’s beautiful mountains. Come learn more about Northern Nevada, before the Telsa storm hits!
Terri Cole
Office: (775)772-2466
Cell: (775)772-2466
RealEstateTerri@charter.net
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Terri is very involved in the Reno community and is a large supporter of our schools. Her dedicated involvement in these activities has enriched her life in the Reno/Tahoe area and given her a strong sense of “belonging”. Because Terri is very enthusiastic about getting out into nature she greatly appreciates both the
Truckee Meadows and the Lake Tahoe Basin. This beautiful area has inspired her and her daughter to participate in their favorite pastime of sailing, horseback riding, skiing and biking. Her most treasured spare time is spent with her family.
Terri’s 25+ years of Real Estate experience, along with her professional Marketing Skills and “Client Care and Service” mentality has lead to years of tremendous success even through our challenging market. This is a testament to her dedication, expertise, “can do” attitude and her desire to provide superior service. Terri’s sense of success is based upon your satisfaction. She would be honored to assist you in your next Real Estate transaction.
Terri is one of the Few Certified Preview Luxury Specialists in Northern Nevada and the International Presidents Circle, of which only 3% of all agents reach. Put this experience to work for your finest property.
- Growth for Reno Homes Expected in 2015 - January 15, 2015
- New Tesla Factory Expected to Spur Economic Growth in Nevada - October 23, 2014
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