A Whole Lot of Construction Going On…
September 13, 2023 | Linda Offerdahl
This is a good thing. New businesses and redevelopment of buildings mean that our community is thriving, that there is investment in our community. Here’s my take on what’s going on around town and how it helps keep our community strong.
Incline Village Grocery Outlet in Village Center has a grand opening date of Thursday, November 2. The old Village Market is being outfitted with brand-new flooring and fixtures; stocking shelves with food is scheduled for mid-October. They are HIRING, preferably locals, with interviews September 28-30. This new business will be a great boost for other Village Center businesses like Glasses Wine Bar, Tahoe Fitness Loft, Wired Solutions, Postal Express, Tahoe Multisport, the thrift stores, and many other businesses. Let’s reconnect with the Village, aka “Post Office” Center, as the place where “locals shop and neighbors meet”.
The brand-new building on Tahoe Blvd, Natural Grocer, is showing signs of progress, finally! We have a target opening date of January 17, 2024. This is the first new construction on “Main Street” that we have seen in a long time. Let’s hope this new building sets the tone and provides inspiration for other centers and plazas to do their own redevelopment. IVCBA and its Main Street program hope to encourage property owners to give a facelift to our commercial core.
The Cal Neva is being renovated and branded as a Proper Hotel. Plans are to keep the historic ambiance of the Indian Room and the Frank Sinatra Showroom and update the entire complex into a boutique hotel with a spa and plenty of entertainment and dining venues that appeal to locals. The benefits of this development, along with the Waldorf-Astoria in Crystal Bay are many. Suitable tourist accommodations provide alternatives to short-term rentals, possibly leading to more long-term rentals for locals. Crystal Bay is the gateway to Nevada. No one wants a blighted commercial area to be the first thing to be seen. Did I mention more jobs!! Both of these new developments are committed to providing workforce housing. Another issue…what about the danger of more people to evacuate in the event of a fire? Let’s use these projects to leverage our desire and need for strong fire safety and evacuation plans. Thank you to the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District for taking these needs seriously and organizing the evacuation drill a month ago.
Raley’s Grocery Store is adding to its already amazing setup of services and departments. If you have been in the store lately (and who hasn’t!), you may have noticed the construction area walled off by the coffee shop. Raley’s is bringing in a Starbucks and adding a salad bar complete with hot food items for takeout or in-store dining. Wow! What a boon to us “Boomers” and to busy families.
A thriving business community provides us with the services we need and want locally. The larger developments provide the resorts that anchor our community and provide tourist business to our merchants that allow them to stay open year-round. Our Visitor Bureau, Travel North Tahoe Nevada, is focused on sustainable tourism and educating those visitors and locals to “Take Care” Tahoe.
HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND
Friday, September 15: Community Forum at Incline Library at 9am
Friday, September 15: TOCCATA’s 9/11 Remembrance concert at St. Francis
Saturday, September 16: Washoe County Sheriff Community Picnic at 10am
Saturday, September 16: Live Music – The Wild Feathers – Crystal Bay Club
Saturday, September 16: Darin Talbot! Live Music at Glasses Wine Bar