Road realignment to untrap land-locked property

After eight frustrating years, construction is under way to restore access to isolated lots near East College Parkway and the end of Hot Springs Road.

Last week, Wykle Research, owned by Lorrainne Weikel, began realignment of Hot Springs Road as well as moving utilities to handle new development to 16 acres of property owned by Weikel.

The project will realign Hot Springs to connect in the middle of Challenger Way, according to Harvey Brotzman, engineer with Carson City's Regional Transportation Commission, who has been part of the negotiation process for nine years.

The road realignment also provides the Weikel property with two access routes, as required by fire codes.

Limited access had prevented development of the land that could potentially hold six to eight additional buildings, each between 12,000 and 20,000 square feet, said Jake Moebius, general manager of Wykle Research, a world-wide manufacturer and developer of dental products.

"Development (of the property) can be finished now, after a seven-year hiatus," Moebius said. "It will slowly be developed as we have tenants."

One new tenant, Snap On Tools, is already prepared to relocate from Denver to the Weikel property.

"Part of how we won Snap On is that fixing the road was beginning," Moebius said. "Not having a start date makes people nervous."

Weikel began wrangling with Carson City officials in 1994 to restore access to Challenger Way, which was cut off during construction of College Parkway in 1993.

"Mrs. Weikel, rather than using the courts, preferred to go through the process out of the courts," Moebius said. "It takes a lot of time."

Weikel reached an agreement with the city in 2000. She agreed to pay for the construction, expected to cost $500,000 including utility upgrades, and then recoup a portion of the expense from the city, probably less than $200,000, Moebius said.

A change in the engineering firm hired to do the work delayed the project another two years.

"(The road construction) cleans up a nightmare," Moebius said. "We're glad to see it moving forward, finally."