Reno Providing Thought Leadership and Innovation through Local Events

While we all may think of ourselves as outside of the box thinkers, what do we do to truly inspire?  How do we help the collaborative effort?  How do we create our niche as the go-to company? How do we hit targets we may have thought we could never get to?  How do we turn our “small” ideas into something that we know can impact a community, a region, a state, a nation, a world? How?

Well, here in Reno, there has been a groundswell of activity to answer just that question – How?

Starting with the University of Nevada TEDx event January 25, to the Project Vesto competition February 8-10, the Startup Reno Weekend February 22-24, the Reno Hackathon March 2-3, and the latest TEDxReno event announced for April 26, northern Nevada is becoming a think tank for individuals to have a venue to express their creativity in the hopes of developing the next great idea.

These innovative and collaborative forums provide individuals and teams the opportunity to not only get together, but inspire one another.  If we continue down this fostering path, northern Nevada, and our economic development, will continue to ascend.

The benefit to northern Nevada is the growing commitment to helping grow the community with new business ideas, and more importantly new businesses, which will help continue our upward tick regarding the economic issues we are continually rising above.  New ideas, new innovation, new businesses, new education, new jobs.

With education surpassing jobs as a main concern in a survey published by the Retail Association of Nevada and posted on RGJ, the goals of thought leadership, innovation, collaboration, and education are prevalent in the area.  Events and organizations that foster this type of leadership should be commended, as we will all benefit from these efforts in northern Nevada.

NAI Alliance is all in for northern Nevada.  We live here.  We play here.  We work here.  We will grow here.

Forbes publishes Commercial Real Estate Forecast Update: 2013-2014

This Thursday, Forbes Magazine published their Commercial Real Estate Forecast Update: 2013-2014.  Similar to the data presented by NAI Alliance at the Builders Association of Northern Nevada (BANN) Forecast 2013 event in January, the data reflects modest growth projected for 2013 with some caveats.  The northern Nevada market is basically falling in line with a nationwide trend - growth.  Slow growth, but growth nonetheless.  Encouraging information in a number of markets.

Here are some excerpts from the Forbes piece:
Office:
- The office market enjoyed 11 consecutive quarters of occupancy growth and eight straight quarters of rent increases
- Finding large contiguous Class A spaces in downtown areas can be difficult

Industrial:
- Starting to expand, with more new deliveries than in recent years
- Vacancy rates will not fall too far, nor will rents rise too fast
- Increased volume of rented space will help the large landlords improve their efficiency

Retail:
- Seeing more absorption than construction
- Overall retail spending has only increased 4.4 percent in the past 12 months
- The positive side for property owners is the extremely low interest rate for commercial mortgages

Investment:
- The recent stock market surge may shift some money away from real estate
- Light to moderate gains are likely
- The Wall Street Journal’s most recent survey of economic forecasters shows a 17 percent risk of recession

So there are a number of positive takeaways from the data delivered by Forbes, but the rule remains - cautious optimism.  We, as both a local market and a nation, are climbing out, but there are many hurdles to clear.  Fortunately the path is bright.

You can view the entire article from Forbes by clicking here.

In addition, you can view the presentations given by NAI Alliance executives at the BANN Forecast 2013 event on the NAI Alliance YouTube brand channel by clicking here.

New Sparks Justice Court Ribbon Cutting and Open House - Feb 22

The new Sparks Justice Court is now open.  Please join the community for a ribbon cutting ceremony and dedication of the courthouse Friday February 22 at 1675 E. Prater Way, Suite 107 in Sparks, NV.  Tour the courthouse, meet the staff and talk to the judges.  This is an exciting event for Washoe County and the City of Sparks and we encourage you to attend.

When:  Friday February, 22

Time: 3:00pm-4:30pm
Where:  1675 E. Prater Way, Suite 107, Sparks, Nevada (across the street from the Sparks Police Department

Dominic Brunetti, SVP/Principal Office Properties at NAI Alliance, and the office team of NAI Alliance represented the Sparks Justice Court to get them into their new, modern facility.

Work Starts on Southeast Connector in Sparks

This long awaited, and much anticipated, construction work has started.  The SouthEast Connector (SEC) will be a 6 lane arterial roadway with two new at-grade signalized intersections. The new intersections will be at Mira Loma Drive and Pembroke Drive. The SEC will originate at the existing intersection of South Meadows Parkway and Veterans Parkway on the south end and will terminate at the existing intersection of Greg Street and Sparks Boulevard on the north end.

This is very exciting for business and property owners across the region, as a new artery will create a new traffic corridor never before seen in some key regions of northern Nevada.

The article is courtesy of the Reno Gazette.

Northern Nevada Median Household Income Map

An interesting graphic from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey and the Reno Gazette Journal regarding median household income and demographics in the northern Nevada area.  The Southeast Connector plays right into a great demographic area for the region.  Courtesy of @rgj.

NAI Alliance Investment Market Report - Fourth Quarter 2012

NAI Alliance has recently posted its Fourth Quarter 2012 Investment Market Report.  While the overall theme was flat to slow growth, the Northern Nevada market has seen some bright spots during the slow, yet steady, recovery.

An upward trend in transaction volume in Washoe County has been occurring since the low water mark of Q1-2009.  Much of this has to do with taxes, both of our neighboring state(s) and federally, being the primary factor for the rapid increase in recent transaction volume in our region.

With new business such as Apple, Biz Chair, and Alfa Aesar moving in, as well as a continued commitment to Northern Nevada by the likes of Henry Schein, Trex, Hamilton Company, Sanofi and others mean that the region is stabilizing and showing conservative signs of growth. 

To read the full Investment Market Report, including vacancy rate data and in-depth thoughts on the California to Nevada shift, click here.

 

Michael Schnabel of NAI Alliance, Chosen To Participate as a Judge for the Upcoming Project Vesto Competition!

Project Vesto is a next-generation business competition designed specifically for Nevada by Nevadans. Competitors pitch experienced investors, select the finalists and then the public votes to select the winner through their social media outlets. The winning team will receive $100,000 in cash to start their Nevada business. This is a program organized by NIREC and sponsored through the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development. The submission round ended on December 31 and received an overwhelming amount of submissions, 232 in total, from across the greater Nevada area.  The pitches will be 5-minutes followed by 5-minutes of question and answer in front of a panel of experienced investors. No projector, no PowerPoint, no Prezi, no Keynote and no set up time.  Michael Schnabel spearheads the Investment Services Group at NAI Alliance.  Michael is a Founding Partner and Managing Member at Development ARTS and was a Founding Partner and Managing Member of Blackfire Real Estate Investors.  Michael is an active Angel Investor in Northern California and Northern Nevada with investments representing a diverse portfolio of companies. For more information about the competition please check out www.ves.to