New development slated for Kiley Ranch

The new owner of more than 650 acres of land at Kiley Ranch plans on breaking ground on single-family homes and multi-family apartments before the end of the year.

KM2 Development purchased the land on the steps of the downtown Reno courthouse in November of 2011 after Kiley Ranch Communities, former owner of the land, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in late September of 2010. KM2 Development was incorporated in Nevada in February of 2012.

KM2 seeks final approval from the City of Sparks to develop 100 acres and says approval could come as early as mid-May, President Jeff Kirby says. The density of the proposed development could be between 400 and 800 new units between both product types.

The proposed Class-A apartment communities off Henry Orr Parkway would be similar to the Caviata and Waterstone at Kiley Ranch communities, while single-family homes most likely would run in the $300,000 to $500,000 range, Kirby says. Once it wins approval for its development plans, KM2 will solicit regional builders to purchase land and develop subdivisions and the apartments.

“We have an open book,” Kirby says. “We want to see what the different guest builders want to do and pick what we think is right for the project.”

KM2 Development will deliver paper lots with full backbone infrastructure in place. Christy Corporation, headed by Principal Scott Christy, is performing all the engineering work on the land. Christy also is a registered director of KM2 Development.

“We are rolling out tentative maps and are going to be to market and for sale in the next two weeks,” Christy says.

At the same time, KM2 and Dermody Properties are focusing on further development of commercially zoned land off Lazy 5 Parkway. Belimo Controls was the first company to call the area home, but Kirby sees the business park hosting a mix of technology and pharmaceutical manufacturers or companies serving Nevada’s nascent drone industry.

The pad-ready land lends itself to that type of user, he adds, because employees can live and shop nearby. KM2 Development also has about 30 acres of raw land it plans for retail use on the west side of Pyramid Highway just north of Sparks Boulevard.

Retail tenants most likely would be a mix of small stores and restaurants, Christy says.

“As we get our rooftops moving, we will start formally listing (retail),” Kirby adds.

KM2 has spent much of the last few years readying the project for this year’s development. It also was waiting for northern Nevada’s economy to improve enough to support another master-planned community. The discounted rate it purchased the property allowed to be flexible on development timelines.

“We are not under a lot of time pressure and have the ability to plan it and do it right out of the gate,” Kirby says. “By virtue of our basis in it we have time to do that.

“We feel pretty confident that our vision of this project is going to come together because the market is starting to come together,” he adds.

Renown Regional Medical Center in April of 2013 purchased 40 acres of land in the Kiley Ranch area for future development of a small medical campus to serve residents of Spanish Springs and north Sparks.

Stacy Kendall, director of communications and new media for Renown Regional Medical Center, says the hospital has not advanced its plans to construct a medical facility at the site.