Email this story Print this story Archives

Carlin Rising: Big projects to break ground this year

By JOHN SENTS - Staff Writer
Thursday, March 8, 2007 1:54 PM PST

Carlin’s residential and commercial park is expecting several large developments to start breaking ground this year — including a housing development with up to 350 homes; a hotel, casino, RV Park and restaurants; an 80-unit apartment complex; and pizza restaurant. (Submitted)

ELKO — After more than a year of planning, several projects in Carlin’s residential and commercial park — including one with up to 350 homes — are expected to break ground this year.

In addition to the housing project, which is planned in phases on about 236 acres in the park, separate developers are planning a hotel, casino, RV park and restaurants; an 80-unit apartment complex; and a pizza restaurant within the park, located just off Interstate 80 on the Newmont Mine Highway.

The housing project is spearheaded by Reno based NV Developers LLC, which includes principal Tom Ortiz and partner Mark Schopper. Schopper said they are planning to include 100 to 125 moderately priced homes in the first phase of the project. Depending on the engineering plans for the 236 acres, the entire project could include between 250 and 350 modular, manufactured and custom homes, Schopper said.

He said engineering plans for the first phase will be done in the next few months. Plans for the project, including a grading plan and development agreement, must be approved as well, Schopper said. He said financing for the project is already in order.

He said they hope to start breaking ground sometime in the spring. The subdivision will include paved streets, which will need to be laid out.

NV Developers and other land owners in the Carlin park have commissioned a traffic study, which is pending with the Nevada Department of Transportation.

“Assuming everything goes as planned, we hope to have models up there this summer,” Schopper said. “Within the next 14 to 16 months, we hope to have phase one largely completed.”

Schopper said the homes will likely range from 1,100 to 1,500 square feet and be priced under $200,000. He said they will be “medium-priced homes with all the amenities of a first-class development.”

The typical model will include three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The subdivision will include a park with a playground and other amenities, Schopper said.

“This will be planned out. It will be laid out nicely,” Schopper said. “Depending on the market, we will move into phase two and three, after absorption of phase one is complete.”

Bordering the housing project, Brian Knowles and David Encinas are planning an 80-unit apartment complex on about five acres of land called the Mountain View Apartments. Knowles said he will lease the apartments. Rents are tentatively targeted between $600 and $700 a month, he said.

Knowles said they are tentatively planning the apartments to be built as two-story four-plexes — with units of two bedrooms and two bathrooms; or two bedrooms and one bathroom. They may include some units with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, he said. He expects units will be between 900 and 1,100 square feet.

Knowles, who currently owns two four-plexes on the corner of Chestnut and Fifth Streets in Carlin, said they hope to have the first 12 units of the new project completed in six to nine months. However, he said it could take longer, depending on the traffic study.

Knowles said the apartments will complement the houses NV Developers is building nearby. Residents could rent at their apartments until they are ready to move into a home at the neighboring development.

“The key concept of the whole project is that all of us are working together to accomplish it,” Knowles said. “The reason it is going so smoothly is that everyone is working together.”

Commercial projects

Developer Denis Floge said he is moving forward full speed with his plans to develop a 60-room hotel, 25-space RV Park, fast food restaurant, sit-down restaurant and 150- to 200-slot machine operation on about 40 acres in the Carlin park. He recently told Carlin’s City Council his financing for the project is coming on line and should be in place within the next few weeks.

He said he is hoping to break ground on the project this spring. The project may create 200 jobs and generate more than $68,000 a year in property taxes.

Finally, Carlin’s Pizza Factory restaurant is planning to move into the park. Owners Tanya and Okie Roland purchased one acre of land in the park and are planning to build a new pizza restaurant there, where they will move to. They currently lease space for their current restaurant. Tanya Roland said the store will be bigger. She said the building is being designed and more details will be announced later.

Elko County agreed last year to provide $50,000 now and more later to extend utilities to Carlin’s commercial and residential park, at a spot where future developers can easily tap into it. The infrastructure is expected to be in place this April, said Carlin City Manager William Kohbarger.

Kohbarger is all smiles when talking about the new developments planned for Carlin. The land being developed has been vacant since it was zoned for industrial park use in the late 1980s. The majority of development in the park has been on the 185 acres west of Newmont Mine Highway.

“Everybody is pumped. The town is buzzing,” Kohbarger said. “It is absolutely great. The cities are pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and they are getting things done.”

By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy.

**Your Member ID and password will be required to log in. Your comments will appear under your user name.