Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter
Since the idea was first conceived, the plan to construct Nevada Pacific Parkway to connect Interstate 80 with U.S. 50A has had more stops and starts than an air conditioner on a hot day.
What’s never been available is the funding to actually build it.
Until now.
On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the city of Fernley $25 million from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program for the Nevada Pacific Parkway project. The award, to be managed by the City of Fernley and Mark IV Capital – a privately held real estate firm that owns the 4,314-acre Victory Logistics Industrial Park, will be applied to funding the needed construction of the NPP project.
The funding allows for the complete construction of the project, with a two-year estimated timeline.
“This RAISE grant represents the largest single grant award in the history of the city,” said Mayor Roy Edgington. “We are very happy to see the Nevada Pacific Parkway project move forward. The city of Fernley recognizes the critical infrastructure enhancements needed for the Victory Logistics Project and Fernley to be successful. In addition to improvements in safety and traffic operations with the connection, this project will be transformative to the local and regional economies.”
The Parkway will serve the Victory Logistics District, but will also alleviate the often heavy traffic on Main St. and through the roundabout.
Nevada Pacific Parkway was first planned sometime after Wade Development purchased 4.200 acres from Lyon County in 1994 and began developing what was then called the Crossroads Commerce Center. Wade Development had an agreement with Lyon County to build the parkway, but the recession in the early to mid-2000s scuttled those plans.
The I-80 interchange was completed in 2009 at a cost of $10,885,329, and the northern portion of the parkway was completed in 2012 a cost of $2,859,552. The project was included in the 2014 Nevada Department of Transportation plan with construction slated for 2019, but funding for the project never materialized. Then Mark IV Capital bought the Crossroads Commerce Center in 2019 along with other adjacent and nearby lands and renamed it the Victory Logistics District.
In 2020, the city annexed 170 acres of county property south of the end of Nevada Pacific Parkway to allow for the extension of the parkway to U.S. 50A.
The project includes the completion of the Nevada Pacific Parkway road and bridge over the railroad tracks which will connect Interstate 80 to U.S. 50A.
“Mark IV Capital is very proud of our Victory Logistics District project and our partnership with the City of Fernley to facilitate significant job growth in northern Nevada while putting the city on the map as a leader of new manufacturing, distribution, logistics and data center projects for industry-leading companies,” said Evan Slavik, President of Mark IV Capital. “We are especially thankful for the assistance of Senator Cortez Masto in her collaboration with the Department of Transportation and the support of Senator Rosen and Congressman Amodei. Due to their leadership and cooperation, this grant award will accelerate the creation of tens of thousands of jobs in northern Nevada.”
Under the terms of the grant, the grant funds in combination with a local match, provided by Mark IV Capital, will be used to fund the road and bridge elements to the Nevada Pacific Parkway. This road/bridge improvement will enable the city of Fernley to accommodate the expected increase in truck traffic to Victory Logistics. The total cost of the project is $52.4 million.
The city worked with several agencies in applying for the grant including Mark IV Capital, Nevada Department of Transportation, and the grant writing firm, Kalbacher Associates, LLC.
The project began in 2020 as a collaborate effort with the city of Fernley and Mark IV Capital, spearheaded by Mark IV.
“I supported the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law because I knew it would bring good-paying jobs to Nevada, including to rural parts of the state,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “I worked to help secure this funding for Fernley to make sure that we’re spurring our economy, supporting our manufacturing industry, and creating thousands of new jobs in the region.”
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