Conflicting dreams for rural Dayton

Connie Corley, of Dayton, has a whole list of things she'd like to see move into her bedroom community.

A list of 15 things, to be exact.

She's excited about the new 6.5 acre development surrounding Smith's on Highway 50, and so are her daughters, 13-year-old Laycie and 10-year-old Chyanne. Since moving to Dayton this month from Carson City, the Corley girls have been a little bit down about the entertainment offered in Dayton, which is limited to renting a movie at Smith's. Before moving north, they lived in Las Vegas, where there was ample entertainment and never a shortage of movies to choose from.

Her "want list" includes a movie theater, a new movie rental store, a community pool, a skating rink, a large restaurant chain, a big box store, such as Target or Wal-Mart, and an auto repair retail store.

"A lot of that stuff on the list is for them (her daughters), such as the skating rink, or the go-cart place or miniature golf," Corley said. "And an arcade, we'd love to see that. But we come from Vegas, so maybe we expect too much."

She believes the new development, which includes 25,000 square feet of retail space, will draw customers from Mark Twain and Silver Springs. The developer said about 20 new businesses will move into Dayton's center this year and 2006. It's about 40 percent full now.

"It's a great investment for someone who does business," Corley said. "But not for me. We'll just spend."

Rita Valent, of Sutro, wants Dayton to keep its character, and she doesn't want to see a beautiful valley getting eaten up into development.

"Those fast-food places are good to make us fat, and not much else," she said. "If we get all of this chain-store invasion, we will look like every other town in America, and we won't have to worry about small local stores being here."

Caroline Mauldin, a Dayton resident for about 11 years, lives behind Smith's and describes the traffic already as horrendous, and she imagines it'll get worse.

"But more traffic is a part of growth," she said.

Mauldin is a fan of Chinese food, so she would love to see a Panda Express restaurant.

Other Dayton residents are looking for practicality, not entertainment. Toni Giovanetti said with all the people coming in and houses going up, she would like to see a business that provides for these new residents and their desires to renovate.

"One thing we truly wish would come out here is a hardware store," she said. "With all the new houses, sometimes you need small items that you can only get at a hardware store. A Lowe's or a Home Depot would be wonderful, but so would a True Value or Ace Hardware."

The Dayton area, which has a population of more than 15,000, has a garden center, two pizza places, a drive-through coffee shop and an old-fashioned downtown with many family-owned shops. It's this rural, hometown quality that many residents, such as Christie Fernquest, would like to see remain.

"I think the development is exciting for the community," Fernquest said. "I hope to see some small mom-and-pop type stores, in contrast to all the chain stores."

The snow is melting from Dayton Delta's land and soon construction will begin. This project is a prize for local officials, who've been looking forward to it for almost two years.

"I think it'll be a major change," Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ed Peck said. "It's a considerable amount of retail space and it'll keep the money here that was going to Carson City. It'll be a major benefit to us."

Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.

Dayton Retail Center

• Phase one is on Retail Road, beside Smith's, and includes eight or nine retail spaces. The completion date is July 2005.

• Phase two, located on Pine Cone Road, will break ground on April 1.

• The center includes space for about 20 businesses. Several pads are facing Highway 50.

Source: Chris Bonafede, manager of Dayton Delta LLC of Minden

Fast Facts:

• Dayton Delta commercial center will include:

Round Table Pizza

Jack in the Box

Taco Bell

The UPS Store

Bobby Pages Dry Cleaner

Nextel Cellular

MTM Capital Services

Paycheck Advance

• The center will be completed late 2005.

• For leasing and other information, contact Dayton Delta at 800-690-7756