Glimmers of hope

Some shots of good news for the northern Nevada economy may be just days away, and more might be coming in the first weeks of 2009.

Economic development agencies and commercial real estate brokers say a number of potential new employers are shopping for office and factory locations in northern Nevada. And although there's some doubt how serious some of the shoppers may be, others appear about ready to sign the papers for facilities in the region.

An as-yet unidentified insurance company, for instance, appears to be a few days and a handful of details away from signing a lease for a good-sized office in Reno. Tim Ruffin, who heads the Colliers International office in Reno and is working on the office deal, said the company would employ about 150 people.

In the Carson City area, meanwhile, a major company one of the nation's largest is getting close to a decision on an alternative energy facility, said Ron Weisinger, executive director of the Northern Nevada

Development Authority.

Weisinger won't identify the company before it makes its decision.

More announcements are possible in early 2009.

The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada is working with more than 15 companies that it expects to make decisions within the next six months or so, said Chuck Alvey, president and chief executive officer of the agency.

Those companies, he said, could represent 700 to 1,000 new jobs for the region.

All told, EDAWN is aware of about 130 companies that have expressed some level of interest in location of plants or offices in the region.

In Carson City and its neighboring counties, NNDA is "the busiest we've been in six years," said Weisinger.

About 20 percent of the prospects with which NNDA is working, he says, are companies from Asia and the European Union that are looking to take advantage of the relatively weak U.S. dollar to purchase land and manufacturing assets in northern Nevada.

Small homegrown companies, meanwhile, are looking for locations to expand their operations and their employment, said Weisinger.

Some decisions could come early next year, he said, with others extending over the next 24 months.

"We're not talking about tire-kickers," Weisinger said.

Commercial real estate brokers say they're working with a steady stream of clients, although the demand for industrial space is nothing like it was a couple of years ago.

"There's enough activity to keep you checking your voicemail," said J. Michael Hoeck, an industrial broker with NAI Alliance in Reno.

But he said it's hard to judge the seriousness of some of the companies that claim to be looking for office and factory locations in northern Nevada, and he said property owners need to be careful they don't get their hopes up too high that vacant space will be occupied any time soon.

Dan Buhrmann, a broker with Grubb & Ellis|NCG in Reno, said his company is "guardedly optimistic" that some potential new employers will decide on northern Nevada early next year. But he, too, noted the market is filled with uncertainty.

"We've got activity. We've got tours. What we don't have is pens getting put to paper," Buhrmann said.

Eric Bennett, an industrial broker with CB Richard Ellis in Reno, said some large companies are looking at space in the region, but they're unlikely to make decisions until next year. Companies that sign leases for existing industrial buildings in early January could be hiring workers to begin operation in spring.

But the recession has slowed many companies.

"Companies are being more cautious and more deliberate in their decision-making," said Bennett.

Ironically, a high vacancy rate in industrial space something around 12 percent in the Reno-Sparks area means that companies could move quickly if they decide to locate operations in the region.

Jumbo-sized buildings are sitting vacant at Stead and Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, and CB Richard Ellis has noted that the availability of the buildings allows the region to compete for manufacturing and distribution companies that in the past wouldn't have given any thought to northern Nevada locations.