Gardnerville hopping

Things are hopping in Gardnerville, and not just because of the grasshoppers.

On Friday morning, Carson Valley Health conducted a topping off ceremony for its $55 million expansion which is expected to open next year.

The hospital formerly known as Carson Valley Medical Center is not the only project underway in that area south of Gardnerville.

Within sight of where the beam, carrying signatures of hospital well-wishers was hoisted into place, over on Charlotte work is underway on a $1.6 million animal clinic that will be the new home of Carson Valley Veterinarian Hospital.

Announced last year, it will be the first move in more than 30 years, according to the hospital, which has helped Valley pets since 1955.

Last week, Gardnerville Town Board members gave their blessing to a large self-storage project south of the Muller Lane Parkway roundabout.

It’s pretty clear that Gardnerville expects that section to grow, with reports that a project on the northern edge of the Corley Ranch may be coming in the future.

Even in denying a master plan and zoning map amendment, members of the Town Board indicated that at some point the location of a second manufacturing home project will see something.

Further north, there have been rumblings that the 1,020-unit Virginia Ranch project, the largest in Gardnerville, will start work to extend their part of the Parkway to Toler. From there, grading is underway on another project that is expected to connect the parkway to the portion the county is under an obligation to build.

We anticipate that much of the approved, yet unbuilt, housing along that route may begin to turn up at public meetings seeking design reviews.

Next year, Virginia Ranch will hit its 20th birthday since it was approved in 2004. Even after punching through Muller Lane Parkway, that project is likely still years from completion.

That’s because, as we have seen in many locations, having an approved project doesn’t always indicate that there’s a demand.

But with a Walmart and the expansion of the hospital, it’s pretty clear commercial issues are betting that demand is in the pipeline.