Dibs. I call it. Tesla has selected our area as their Priority #1 site for their 10,000,000 SF Gigafactory. I wish the site had been Reno-Stead airport with housing and public transit already in place, but TRIC has a lot going for it. Storey County for one. Storey is not a part of the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency, and can make up their own planning regulations as they go along. Toxic waste? Whatever. Site work has been going on for a month now, if not by Tesla, certainly FOR Tesla.
So welcome, Tesla. How are we going to deal with you?
The first wave will be the construction workers. Our current labor pool simply can’t handle a project of this size. Expect a lot of RVs looking to settle in for a couple of years with owners with Southern accents and Alabama plates. Their long term managers are already gobbling up any house attached to a good school track (Somersett, Caughlin Ranch, Juniper anything).
The region can probably assimilate 1000 jobs/houses. 6500? New construction will be needed to meet the supply demand. Watch for Copper Canyon on Vista in Sparks to go code red. Ferntucky should see an infusion of new SFR construction.
So we’ve got it. Tesla is coming our way with $5,000,000.000 in construction and 6500 new jobs. I can cite 10 or more circumstantial “proofs” that they are coming or already here. So how are we as a Region prepared to adapt to this new reality? How do you get in front of the wave to capitalize on it?
Let me know your thoughts, and contact me with your proposals.