Building Nevada - September 2006

Wide Awake

Nevada’s Bedroom Communities

by Jessica Santina

The alarm goes off at 5 a.m. It’s awfully early, but you have to hit the road by 6:30 a.m. if you’re going to have any chance of making it to work, in traffic, by 8 a.m. Sound familiar? If so, you’re one of thousands in Nevada now commuting an hour or more to urban areas from one of the many flourishing bedroom communities. The high cost of land and housing in cities have driven many Nevadans into these small residential towns – that, and the desire to escape to a more rural, quiet lifestyle. As a result, Nevada’s sleepy bedroom communities are all of a sudden wide awake.

Southern Nevada

Although Clark County is now, for the first time in years, no longer the fastest growing county in Nevada – it’s fifth – its growth shows no signs of stopping. More than 1.6 million people now live in the Las Vegas metro area, and that Vegas housing price is approximately $308,000. On a 30-year fixed mortgage, that’s a monthly payment of about $2,150, according to the Nevada Appeal, meaning that you’d have to make at least $70,000 a year to afford a home in Las Vegas. Between the high housing costs and the crush of city life, bedroom communities like Coyote Springs, Mesquite, Pahrump and Mojave County, Ariz. have become attractive alternatives to Las Vegas, which is why all of them are booming.

Coyote Springs

Easily the most newsworthy bedroom community in Southern Nevada is Coyote Springs. When completed, this 43,000-acre, 65-square-mile master-planned development 60 miles northeast of Las Vegas will be, in effect, a brand new town. It’s the brainchild of Reno attorney-turned–developer acquired the land in 1996 for $15 million.

Straddling the line between Clark and Lincoln counties, Coyote Springs is entitled for 159,000 units – 49,000 of which are in Clark County. Pardee Homes has purchased and now controls nearly 65,000 of those units. Sales should begin at the end of 2007, and homes should be delivered in January of 2008.

Coyote Springs is much more than just new homes. Currently,16 golf courses are on the drawing board, including a Jack Nicklaus-designed course now under construction. Coyote Springs will house the second PGA Village in the country – a 22-acre village that will include a welcome center, a PGA learning center, an events center and a general store. The 91,000-square-foot clubhouse will be one of the largest in the world. Additionally, Coyote Springs will feature a 13,000-acre nature preserve and a $30 million community center and accompanying lake. More than $250 million in infrastructure improvements and community facilities will be completed around September of 2007, including a school and medical facilities. Furthermore, Whittemore owns water rights in excess of 40,000 acre-feet.

"Coyote Springs will start as a bedroom community," said Whittemore, "but eventually the goal is to make it self-sustaining." Will living in Coyote Springs be worth the more than 50-minute drive from downtown Las Vegas? With housing prices projected to be 10 percent to15 percent less than comparable homes in the city, Whittemore thinks so. "People still want to achieve the American dream of owning a house," he said. "Some convert that into living in condos and high-rise apartments, which is about 10 percent to 15 percent of the population. But the rest are still searching for a place to raise a family with all the amenities we have."

Mesquite

According to Home Builders Research, Inc., a Las Vegas-based residential research firm, approximately 1,000 homes per year are under construction in Mesquite, about 85 miles to the northeast of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. With a 90-minute commute to Las Vegas, Mesquite seems too distant to be a bedroom community, but based on its rate of development, that’s not a problem.

When Allen Bell, Mesquite’s director of engineering and economic development, came to the area in 1994, the population of this tiny town with six golf courses – known primarily as a retirement destination – was about 3,000. He estimates it now hovers around 20,000. A total of about 14,000 new homes are on the drawing board in Mesquite. The first is a 2,014-acre Pulte Homes community called Anthem Mesquite, which will include as one of its features a Del Webb active adult lifestyle community, Sun City Mesquite, adjacent to an 18-hole golf course.

In addition to 4,600 homes, Anthem Mesquite will host four miles of trails, a 33-acre regional park, recreational facilities and limited commercial space. The average home will be about 1,500 square feet and cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $230,000 – somewhat less than comparable homes in Las Vegas.

Adjacent to one of Mesquite’s top golf courses, Wolf Creek, will be HawkRidge Condominiums, a 152-unit, five-phase development being built by two Minnesota-based real estate entrepreneurs. Comprised of two- and three-bedroom luxury condos, prices will start in the $170s.

Additional projects include Canyon Crest, a 330-acre, 999 residential-unit development, and Mesquite Estates, with 667 acres and 2,301 residential units. In January, the 132-acre mixed-use Barcelona project, containing residential units, a hotel/casino, retail and professional offices, will get underway. Bell estimates another 3,000 units for mixed-use will be developed near the Riverside exit, where the city has a contract to sell 1,000 acres to a developer. The city is also looking to acquire land from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in order to build affordable housing and a regional park. Finally, one of the biggest plans underway is the new 7,500-foot-long general aviation airport 12 miles west of the existing airport, which is currently situated inconveniently between two golf courses.

Still, Allen Bell isn’t so sure Mesquite is purely a bedroom community. "I think a majority of residents actually work here or are retired and don’t work at all," he said. "There are about 1,700 business licenses in Mesquite, and we get about 35 new business licenses every month, not counting renewals."

Pahrump

Welcoming visitors to Pahrump from the west is a sign that reads "Welcome to the New Old West," which sums up, literally and figuratively, the crossroads where Pahrump now finds itself. Almost perfectly centered between Death Valley and Sin City, Pahrump, in Nye County, is home to approximately 35,000 residents. Pahrump, which 10 years ago had a population of 15,000 and was quite rural in nature (and the butt of many jokes), is now poised for incredible growth.

Dave Richards, Pahrump town manager, said the town has consistently averaged about 4 percent growth for each of the last four years, due mostly to the disparity between housing prices there, versus Las Vegas or California. "In Pahrump, you can buy a three-bedroom, two-bath, two-car-garage home on 1.5 acres for $300,000, which is relatively cheap. So we have a lot of people who sold property in Las Vegas, came here with cash, bought a brand new house and put money in the bank. It’s only an hour’s drive, which compares favorably to driving across the Las Vegas Valley with the current traffic problems, and I think we have a better quality of life."

Those who have always enjoyed Pahrump’s rural lifestyle may not love this growth, but their escalating property values might ease that pain. Since January of 2004, property values have doubled; Richards figures the average home now runs somewhere between $275,000 and $300,000. Research by the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) indicates there are 10,000 daily one-way commutes to Las Vegas from Pahrump each morning – that’s about 30 percent of the town’s population.

Richards attributes the growth to a handful of developers who sparked interest in Pahrump. Currently, 15,000 new homes are approved for the southeast corner of town near U.S. Highway 160, all of which will be completed in the next 10 years, bringing an estimated 45,000 new residents. Included in the four developments currently underway is the 6,200-home Gateway community, to be developed by the Focus Property Group, which will be breaking ground in another two years.

Will Pahrump ever become a self-sustaining metro area? Richards said the town is doing what it can to grow jobs, but he wouldn’t guess that Pahrump would ever be truly urbanized, given the way the parcels of land are distributed. "Most of our industry is currently service-oriented," said Richards. "We have four small casinos, and the school district is still the largest employer. We need other jobs that are high-paying and can support a family. I think we’ve made some inroads to that effect at the town level, and hopefully, we’ll have good news to report in the next year."

Mojave County, Arizona

The 3.5-mile Hoover Dam Bypass project, which will quickly and easily connect Clark County to U.S. Highway 93 in Mojave County, Ariz., is scheduled for completion in June 2008. When that happens, it will become the gateway to a whole new series of bedroom communities.

Rhodes Homes has five master-planned communities in the works for northwest Arizona, comprised of 131,000 homes on more than 20,000 acres. The first of these is the Village at White Hills, located just 28 miles south of the Hoover Dam and approximately 55 miles from Las Vegas. This 20,000-home, 2,700-acre project is intended to be a live–work area. Another community is Golden Valley Ranch, a 33,000-home golf-course community with some commercial activity on 5,750 acres, just another 30 miles to 35 miles south in Kingman.

A number of approvals have yet to be worked out before development on any of the five Rhodes Homes communities begins. Skeptics say there’s not enough infrastructure or water to support the thousands of new residents who will eventually live in Mojave County. Time will tell whether this is true, but with only an hour’s commute time to Las Vegas, it should prove an attractive housing option if these challenges can be overcome.

Northern Nevada

As Ron Weisinger, executive director of the Northern Nevada Development Authority (NNDA), explained, "Reno’s all out of land." Perhaps that’s partly why the median housing price in Washoe County is around $330,000 – surpassing that of Las Vegas. And in Douglas County’s Minden-Gardnerville area, about an hour south of Reno on U.S. Highway 395, the median home price soars to $415,000. It’s no wonder Lyon County, sandwiched between Washoe and Douglas, is the fastest-growing county in Nevada for the fourth straight year; according to CNN, it’s the second fastest-growing county in the U.S., with a 9.6 percent growth rate. Here you’ll find the majority of Northern Nevada’s most active bedroom communities.

Fernley

Initially situated along a transcontinental railroad, Fernley suffered when Interstate 80 was built, replacing Highway 40 as the main thoroughfare through downtown. Since then, the town languished until recent years, when industrial parks started to draw attention to the city. According to estimates reported in the Reno Gazette-Journal, more than six of every 10 new Lyon County residents between July 2004 and July 2005 moved to Fernley. That’s a yearly growth rate of 4.3 percent, which has held steady since 1996. "Fernley is, and isn’t, a bedroom community," said Weisinger. He points to an example: Wade Development’s 5,000-acre Crossroads Commerce Center in Fernley, whose tenants include Amazon.com, Trex Company, Inc. and Quebecor Printing. Developments like this offer many opportunities to work, as well as live, in Fernley. So far the Center has already brought about 3,500 jobs to the area.

Crossroads Commerce Center is part of Wade Development’s Sonterra Master Plan, a large, mixed-use, master-planned community of 6,200 homes and thousands of multi–family housing units, ranging from starter homes to luxury residences and active–adult developments. Lakemont Homes is developing the majority of the houses, which are scheduled to be built over the next 10 years to 15 years. The ultimate goal is to have residents working where they live. Sacramento-based builder R & K Homes is also building 700 homes in Fernley.

To accommodate the population growth in Fernley, NDOT is building a traffic roundabout in town and widening the U.S. Highway 50 alternate. Washoe Medical Center decided to more than double its 3,600-square-foot Fernley facility; now encompassing 7,500 square feet, the expanded hospital opened in May. But even with such growth, the median housing price in Fernley is still around $245,000 – a bargain in the Northern Nevada market.

Dayton

Bedroom communities seem to be popping up all along the U.S. 50 corridor – including Dayton, which is also located in Lyon County, and which serves as a convenient home for those working in land-locked Carson City or in Douglas County, which has a conservative-growth policy. "Who would have thought Dayton would have a Starbucks?" said Weisinger of the coffee giant that opened a Dayton location in July. It’s a sign of remarkable growth in an area that used to be known primarily as the location of several brothels. Today roughly 15,000 people call Dayton home, a population that’s projected to increase to 65,000 by 2012. Part of Dayton’s appeal is its affordability – the median cost of housing there is $275,000, which is a far cry from that of Douglas County.

Most of Dayton’s tremendous growth is due to the more than 1 million square feet of retail and commercial space scheduled to be built in the next four years. Along with that will be another Wade Development plan: Legado, a 3,000-acre, master-planned golf course community on Highway 50. The new Carson City Freeway, which will bypass downtown Carson City and link U.S. 395 just north of town with U.S. 50 in the south, is scheduled for completion in 2010. After that, Dayton and other areas along the U.S. 50 corridor should boom. It’s projected that 15,000 cars daily will make the one-way commute along this vital link to the Truckee Meadows.

Fallon

Located 60 miles from Reno and 61 miles from Carson City, it may be hard to believe that Fallon, in Churchill County, is a bedroom community. But with a current city population of about 9,000, and with just under 1,000 lots now in the approval or construction process, Fallon is set for considerable growth, according to City Engineer Larry White. Before 2005, White said the city was issuing between 20 and 25 single-family housing permits per year; in 2005, it issued 96, and he expects that number to be higher for 2006.

As Rick Gray, executive director of the Fallon Convention and Tourism Authority, explained, Fallon’s tremendous growth isn’t entirely because it’s a bedroom community for Reno, Sparks or Carson City. Housing prices here are actually similar to those in Las Vegas. However, Fallon is a retail and commercial hub for many of the surrounding rural communities, including Hawthorne and Lovelock. Although, as Ron Weisinger pointed out, Churchill County’s philosophy on growth mirrors that of Douglas County – conservative and controlled – Gray said the City of Fallon is looking to bring more businesses to town to accommodate all its residents.

"Fallon has been trying to recruit electricians and linemen for our electrical utility, sewer, water and garbage facilities," said Gray. "We need qualified help to maintain our infrastructure." Additionally, a new business park was recently built on the east end of town.

"We’d like to keep as many people in town as possible, and both the city and the county are looking to bring small businesses here," said White. "We’d like to cut down on the traffic leaving Fallon in the morning."

Rural Nevada - Elko County

Even rural Elko has bedroom communities – in particular, Spring Creek, eight miles south of Elko, home to one of the largest homeowners’ associations in the U.S. Spring Creek’s growth has mirrored that of Elko, explained Elaine Barkdull, executive director of the Elko County Economic Diversification Authority (ECEDA). In the ’80s, when Elko’s gold mining business really began booming, Spring Creek was created so workers could live close by and still own acres of land.

Amenities at Spring Creek include an 18-hole golf course, an indoor/outdoor equestrian center, a campground, a marina park with a 32-acre stocked lake and a sports complex. And with full fiber-optic capabilities and no business license requirements, Spring Creek encourages entrepreneurship, which is why much of the growth in Elko County is taking place there.

"If you look at figures for Elko, you’ll see a population of only 18,000," said Barkdull. "But really, we’re a township of 35,000-plus because of Spring Creek." The nearby towns of Osino and Ryndon, to the northeast, are also bedroom communities for Elko. But with approximately 28,000 cars heading south from Elko at the end of each workday, it’s clear that much of Elko’s commerce relies on Spring Creek residents.

Development in the Elko area is primarily commercial. The Northeastern Nevada Regional Railport is a 100-acre facility set to make Elko a western transportation hub. An adjacent industrial park could bring in another 1,500 jobs. Residential development has been slow, as the city tries to annex large parcels of privately–owned land just on the outskirts of town. However, as jobs continue to grow, those parcels should be developed.

"We’re having a housing shortage," said Barkdull, who pointed out that the average housing price of about $240,000 won’t last long. "Our growth caught us off-guard. But we’ve got investors and homebuilders looking here all the time, and we don’t discourage that – they’ll do well here."

Waking Up in Nevada

For many who have spent years in Nevada’s bedroom communities, enjoying a rural lifestyle, such a remarkable amount of growth and development may cause a few growing pains. But as Ron Weisinger of NNDA pointed out, "If you want to be out there by yourself and away from everybody, you have to go further out. There are always people willing to sell their property for a profit. That’s just the American way."

Jessica Santina
Jessica Santina is a freelance writer based in Reno.