—The joint venture with Belay Investment Group leads the acquisition of a future commercial and creative space of 209,000 square feet—

SPARKS, NV. – Foothill Partners Incorporated, the street-level retail development company focused on centralizing commerce, culture and community, alongside The Innovation Collective, the culture-focused community and economic development company, establishes a new standard in the creation of places. Foothill Partners acquired a vacant 209,000 square foot former Lowe’s Home Improvement in Sparks, Nevada through a partnership with Belay Investment Group. The big empty box is being redeveloped into The Oddie District, a multi-purpose innovation hub of workspaces, living and creating.

“With so much empty space to redevelop, the Oddie neighborhood offers a unique opportunity to create a multi-faceted arts and shopping center in the heart of Sparks,” said Douglas Wiele, founding partner and president of Foothill Partners. “Belay’s exceptional reputation for cultivating emerging managers makes it the ideal partner to further develop our growing platform and continue to add value to the communities we serve. “

The Oddie neighborhood will house spaces for research, development and production, and will house a culture of artists and entrepreneurs. Construction of the district is expected to begin in late 2021 with an expected opening date of its first phases in August 2022.

“The redevelopment of the Oddie neighborhood puts Sparks at the forefront as an arts and business center in the western United States,” said Ed Lawson, Mayor of the Town of Sparks. “We look forward to seeing the potential of this space fully realized. “

Two notable organizations, The Generator and The Innovation Collective have already confirmed their location to The Oddie District. The Generator will occupy 35,000 square feet of the Oddie neighborhood for artistic creation space, and The Innovation Collective will transform 12,500 square feet into collaborative office space for business acceleration and skills building for the tech industry.

“The Generator is thrilled to bring our nonprofit creative space to the Oddie District,” said Jessi “Sprocket” Janusee, Director of Communications for The Generator. “This marks a new era for our growing arts community. We especially look forward to engaging with our neighbors in the Oddie area and working with The City of Sparks to increase accessibility to art and maker culture for all. We are already dreaming of many vibrant community events to organize in our art park.

“We are a passionate group who relentlessly help humans around the world unlock their potential,” said Nick Smoot, CEO of Innovation Collective. “We look forward to partnering with the Sparks community and engaging them in local economic development like we’ve never seen before. This opportunity will connect Nevada with other Collective Innovation communities under construction in Idaho, Florida, New York and Texas.

The rest of the Oddie neighborhood will be developed into a variety of commercial spaces, with an emphasis on flex-tech space for engineering, software and design firms. Food and beverage stores will be onsite for Oddie District tenants and the general public, including an 8,000 square foot brewery and distillery with indoor and outdoor dining options.

Foothill and Belay acquired The Oddie District as part of a joint venture partnership. Barry Chase, General Manager and CEO of Belay, said, “We are delighted to be working with Foothill on the execution of the Oddie District business plan. The creativity and richness of Foothill’s retail experience, coupled with their active civic engagement, has led them to a history of delivering projects responsive to the needs of the local market, such as the combination of intended use in the Oddie district.

“Putting it all together in the envelope of a vacant big box retail building makes things even better,” Wiele said. “We are eager to attract the types of businesses that can help us create a culture in the Oddie neighborhood.”

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About Foothill Partners, Inc.

Founded in 1994 by Douglas Wiele, Foothill Partners, Inc. is a developer / owner of mixed-use commercial and street retail real estate with daily needs based in El Dorado Hills, Calif. And operating in Northern California. and northern Nevada. Foothill acquires, develops and operates properties in partnership with private and institutional real estate investment funds. The goal of Foothill Partners is the reintegration into our communities of the Commerce Center, Culture Center and Community Center in one place ™. Visit www.foothillpartners.com for more information.

About Belay Investment Group

Belay Investment Group, LLC is a female-owned, Los Angeles-based investment management firm seeking value-added investment opportunities, primarily mid-market infill properties in urban transit hub markets. / suburban, on behalf of its institutional investors. Belay implements its investment strategies through long-term partnerships established with high-caliber local operational partners and industry specialists. The company has built a reputation in the industry for supporting the growth and development of emerging operators and managers (including MWBE companies), beyond providing investment capital. Visit www.belayinvestmentgroup.com for more information.

About the Innovation Collective

Innovation Collective is a national minority-owned ecosystem development, real estate services and venture capital investment company. Over the past seven years, he has developed a culture-driven method for developing an inclusive innovation economy. These methods tirelessly aim to help humans around the world unleash their potential to transform lives, economies and communities. Human development and an abundant life are the fundamental principles of its work, its research and its methods. Partners and clients include universities, community colleges, the governor’s economic development offices, family foundations, venture capital funds, national labs, real estate developers and publicly traded companies.

About the generator

The Generator is an inclusive art space, creation space, and community space in the greater Reno / Sparks for anyone looking to create things and be part of a creative community. We dream. We reunite. We create. We do. We’re inspired by the magic and inspiration that we see in all its fullness at Burning Man every summer, and we want to keep it alive all year round. We combine our strengths and share our resources in the name of creative growth and community engagement for all. Never been to Burning Man? No problem. Burner status is not required. We have industrial equipment and tools, a powerful network of creative minds, three-phase power and 35,000 square feet of workspace. We share our collective know-how and hope to learn from yours. We are here to encourage everyone to unleash their creative potential.