Nevada Briefs - November 2004

Nevada Briefs

Business Bank of Nevada Breaks Ground in North Las Vegas

Developer Lyle Brennan is pictured with Monica Hall, vice president and branch manager of Business Bank, North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon and John Guedry, president and CEO of Business Bank, in a groundbreaking ceremony for Business Bank’s first full-service branch in North Las Vegas. The 5,500-square-foot branch and lending center will sit at the entrance to the Cheyenne Valley Gateway Center being developed by Brennan’s group. In September, the bank opened a new 6,800-square-foot branch at Tropicana and Eastern Avenues in Las Vegas and this month it will open a new 4,100-square-foot permanent branch in Minden. In early December, Business Bank will open its first branch in the Reno area.

Community-Owned Store Opens in Ely

Ely’s Community Owned Mercantile Project (CROP) has succeeded in raising the funds needed to open a full-service department store in Ely to replace the JC Penney store, which closed in July. After the JC Penney Company announced last year that the city’s only department store would be closed, community residents banded together to sell shares in the new venture, which is called The Garnet Mercantile. More than 300 people bought shares in the cooperative, raising over $400,000. The store is scheduled to open this month in time for the holiday buying season.

Nevada Marketing Campaign Targets California

The Nevada Economic Development Partnership, a coalition of five organizations, has launched a new initiative to lure businesses from California to Nevada. The campaign, titled "Will Your Business Be Terminated?" includes outdoor signs, print ads and transit ads in major California cities. The campaign will present images of people struggling with the high cost of doing business in California, and will explain the benefits of relocating to Nevada. Ads will point out that California has the nation’s highest workers’ compensation rates, expensive utility costs and the only company-paid family-leave program in the U.S. In 2003-2004, 38 California companies relocated or expanded their business to Nevada, creating 1,500 new jobs.

Veterans Hospital Slated for Southern Nevada

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi recently announced the location of a new $295 million, full-service medical center in North Las Vegas, which will be built near the intersection of Pecos Road and I-215. The site, now owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), will house a full-service Veterans Administration (VA) medical center, including a 90-bed hospital, a 120-bed nursing home, a full complement of diagnostic and treatment services and a Veterans Benefits Office. Outpatient care would be offered at the new facility, as well as at existing clinics in Southern Nevada. The VA and BLM, in cooperation with the city of North Las Vegas, identified approximately 120 acres of land for the site, which BLM will cede to the VA at no cost. Construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2006.