The Urban Blog

Reno's Neighborhoods

Note:  This post was published over two years ago, and was horribly out of date.  So it's been updated.  Reno's come a long way in two years.  This post will be featured for a while and eventually updated again.

This page breaks Reno out by neighborhoods and describes them in terms of what you will find there.  One thing that makes Reno truly great is its neighborhoods, of sufficient age and variety that they can even be broken down in terms of sub –neighborhoods.

Downtown
Downtown proper that is.  I'd say it's bounded by I-80 on the north, Liberty St on the south and by Arlington and Evans, west and east.  Downtown’s skyline is pretty visually appealing from a large number of vantage points in the city.  While it isn’t perfect, downtown is the epicenter of Reno’s ongoing efforts to improve its urban environment, and is worth a look.  If you’re staying downtown while visiting, look here for what to do when you get tired of being inside the building.

Casino District
At the north end of this part of town, you’ll find the major casino entity in Reno, which consists of Eldorado, Silver Legacy, and Circus Circus.  Nearby, and next to a dreadful looking block of buildings (we’re sorry, we’re working on it!) is the original Harrah’s property.  Well, not really, but for all intents and purposes, yes (the original Harrah’s casino was across the street).  For some real Reno casino experiences, visit The Little Nugget, mid-block on Virginia Street south of Commercial Row, and Club Cal Neva, which will be unmissable.  At the former, have a good cocktail from the bar.  The Little Nugget is a slot parlor and is most famous as the home of The Awful Awful, a hamburger with a convoluted enough history, suffice to say, The Little Nugget can claim the title of home.  At the latter… well, go inside.  This is what gamblin’ looked like for a long time.

WeFi
“WeFi” is the name that was given by a publicity-stirring resident of the hippest part of downtown, which is located at West and First Streets, right next to Wingfield Park and the River Walk.  Whatever you want to call it (lots of locals sneer at “WeFi” but I kinda like it), it’s a nice place to go walking around, especially in the daytime.  The merchant’s association calls it the Riverwalk District.

Not long ago, the Reno Redevelopment Agency created a Public Market on West Street between First and Second Streets in some beautiful old buildings.  While this is a nascent project, in warmer months especially the market spills out onto the street during the day and becomes a bona fide farmer’s market, toward the end of the week.  Special events also occur regularly here, and there is a great wine bar for tastings in a friendly atmosphere.

High rise housing is clustered around this area, bounded on the north by a project called Montage, a recent full scale renovation of a former casino, which as of this writing is not on the best financial footing due to the real estate bust.  A recent project right on the river called Palladio is the building with the green pitched roof.  Riverwalk, Arlington and Park Towers are all clustered around the river between Arlington and West streets, with Park Tower on the south bank of the Truckee.

East Fourth Street
This is Reno's classic strip o' bars at night.  There are a number of long neglected buildings here just begging for someone to come use them for something modern.  At the same time, there is work that needs to be done in this area as well if it is to be really worthy of investment.  The streetscape is due for improvement.

East Fourth Street does have its afforementioned nightlife.  Nightlife institutions like Lincoln Lounge, Club Underground, Davidson’s Distillery, Abby’s Old Highway 40, Treehouse Lounge, and Studio on 4th play host to a variety of events – everything from bikers to all ages open mic nights.

Also on East Fourth Street is Louis’ Basque Corner, and Casale’s Halfway Club restaurant – which is not a halfway house, but rather is halfway between Reno and Sparks.  Or something.  Classic American kitchen Italian.  Basque food in Reno is legendary.

Ballpark District
In Fall of 2007, something local leaders had been hoping and praying would happen finally happened.

A few years before that, a surcharge on rental cars was begun, and that money pooled into an account, to be used for the construction of a true AAA Minor League baseball stadium in Reno to accommodate a team – which needed to be found.

Some businessmen from out of town appeared with access to money, and those businessmen managed, in the span of a little over a year, to clear several buildings, including Reno’s main fire station, off a plot of land on the east side of downtown, and raised up a beautiful minor league ballpark, bought and relocated a team and had butts in seats cheering like crazy by Spring, 2009, for the inaugural season of the Reno Aces.  Lake and First is a good place to start.

Good thing, too, because this part of downtown was looking pretty rough.  A landmark building had burned down, and so a once vibrant part of town had been reduced to a bunch of empty lots.  Those empty lots are filling up again.  As of this writing, construction is underway on the second phase of the ballpark project, to include an entertainment complex, as well as a new transit center for downtown.

This district is also home to Santa Fe Hotel, another of Reno’s classic Basque restaurants.  I’ll leave it to you to choose a favorite.

Conclusion
More investment is needed in the downtown area to unlock its full potential, but it’s already a lot of fun – and shows one way that Reno is truly The Biggest Little City.

Midtown
People in Reno can sometimes be a little skeptical when people try to call their neighborhood something fancy.  But one name that seems to have caught on with people is Midtown.  Midtown refers to the area of town between Plumb Lane to the south, and Liberty Street to the north, just south of downtown.  It’s truly a descriptive name, so that’s probably why people like it.

Midtown has two distinct neighborhoods hanging off of it, that share great common features, but are distinct in their own right.  The two main streets of Midtown are South Virginia Street and Wells Ave.

Wells Ave
My original, and current, Reno home.  This strip of mostly commercial development punctuated by old houses and the odd apartment building is an old main street and recently underwent a community driven renovation.  The road was narrowed and bike lanes were added.  Street furniture, landscaping, and decorative lighting were installed, and public art was installed.

Wells Ave has become home to a considerable number of Latino businesses over the past several years.  It’s also home to some great old bars, and an old bank (today a US Bank) that was once a church.  While not necessarily a great pedestrian destination for tourists (the businesses are very neighborhood oriented), nonetheless south of Stewart Street, it’s pleasant to look at and has great views of the whole city and the mountains.

South Virginia Street
This is the stretch of South Virginia, Reno’s definite main street, bounded by Plumb Lane on the south and Liberty St on the north.  This is where the zany antique malls, adult boutiques, cutting edge design studios, thrift shops, bars, nightclubs (including a gay bar), ethnic restaurants, and more other food options than I can recount, all seem to happily coexist.

South Virginia Street is in line to be rehab’ed in something called the Complete Street Project.  South Virginia is home to Reno’s high capacity, high frequency BRT bus line RTC RAPID, and by November of 2010 it is expected that BRT stations, with level boarding platforms, will exist on Virginia, and streetscape improvements will have begun.

Today, South Virginia Street is a desolate place for pedestrians.  Sidewalks in some places are about 2 feet wide.  Yet it is undeniably urban, and undeniably:  if you like cities and the kinds of funky yet safe things cities tend to have among their accoutrements, you will like this street.

University
The area around the University of Nevada, Reno, is an old residential neighborhood.  UNR, as the locals call it, is also referred to as Nevada in NCAA sports.

The UNR campus is a great place to walk around, and if you don’t mind living in a neighborhood full of college students, you could do worse than to live in the neighborhood on the hill to the west of the university.

Old Southwest
Driving through the leafy streets of Reno’s Old Southwest, it’s easy to imagine living there.  The would be resident will be limited by the size of the pocketbook, however.  It’s going to be really important here.  A few main streets of this neighborhood are Plumas Street, Arlington Ave, and Mt Rose Street.  The Old Southwest is the residential part of Reno with the most charming houses, mansions built when your grandparents were kids (around Newlands Circle on California Ave), leafy streets and interestingly enough, largely not a lot of pretense about the whole affair.  Along the eastern edge, the border with Midtown, owners turn to tenants, a few apartment buildings emerge here and there.

California Avenue
The merchants like to call this street “CalAve” – and this is another designation that locals frequently sneer at.  You can just say “on California” and people will know what you’re talking about.  California Avenue is an edge between downtown and Old Southwest – and is a district main street of both but more closely resembles the latter.

On California you’ll find boutiques and great places to have lunch, a nightlife institution called Biggest Little City Club, as well as the marvelous St James Infirmary, and provided you’re not too late in the evening, The Chocolate Bar.

California is also located adjacent to two Reno institutions you need to know about:  Peg’s Glorified Ham ‘n Eggs (Sierra and Liberty), what might possibly be the best breakfast you can get at a restaurant, and Nevada Museum of Art (Liberty and Flint), a Will Bruder designed building opened in 2003 as the new home of an institution, the state’s only accredited art museum, which has been going for decades.

Idlewild Park
It’s worth taking a brief moment to acknowledge the wonderful Idlewild Park.  This park is the confluence of western downtown (not covered here yet), and Old Southwest charm.  From Wingfield Park downtown, head toward the green mountains (the Sierra) along Riverside Drive, cross the river at Booth Street, and follow the signs to Idlewild Park.  This is a great walk just about any day of the year.

Conclusion
There’s a lot more of Reno to cover on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis.  But so many of the charms of the community are laid out here, that if you’re in search of what makes Reno Reno, you’ll hopefully find them with this guide.  Good luck in the Biggest Little City.

In Reno, a Streetcar, No Wait, Light Rail? Plan is Not a Transit Plan

In Reno, news has been out for a while now about a plan to convert the soon to be implemented Virginia Street BRT (or bus rapid transit for you non wonks) service to streetcar, and eventually a light rail system.  This blog has remained silent on the subject thus far because the whole effort is part great idea, part hastily conceived notion.  The project’s costs would come in the form of a property tax increase, which doesn’t feel too promising to pass at the ballot box, which it would be required to do.

I am personally very interested in the idea of establishing rail transit in the Reno area, and I pay property taxes in Reno.  I would vote to raise my own taxes to pay for transit related improvements.  However, one of the things about this current proposal that is worrisome is that it is so ill defined, it could end up a flash in the pan and any future effort would be tainted by it.

So it is with that background that I have been looking at this thing, and when I look at things, I tend to try to find areas where they can be improved.  Here’s what the Reno plan is missing.

One thing that is missing is a long-range plan.  RTC needs to produce maps and conceptual renderings of not just what the vehicles or station facilities would look like but rather what areas are being served over the long term.  The plan to lay track and run streetcars and eventually, if voters will approve it, light rail, is shortsighted thinking.

Washoe RTC’s Proposed Primary Transit Network [Source]

Any plan put before voters needs to show how that plan has positive long-term implications for the regional transit network.  The different types of transit vehicles and their infrastructure have different uses in the regional and local contexts.

For example, a city-level streetcar network should be conceived as joining close-in neighborhoods to downtowns and other regional centers.  A regional light rail system connects farther flung destinations along greater distances.  In this model, proposed light rail would have a focus on connecting the far south end of the corridor, at Mt Rose Highway, with the north end of the corridor, in Stead.  (Instead of what?  You ask.  Hooray for you!  You’re still reading.)

 
A light rail corridor

It might be said about this light rail corridor, in the planning meetings where nearby citizens show up and say what they think, that it should be largely grade-separated, and that trains should come no less frequently than every 15 minutes.

Streetcars, on the other hand, would be used to knit together the urban fabric.

   
A streetcar network

Such a streetcar network could serve as the impetus for streetscape redesign projects, and naturally would feed into the idea of making the city more connected to downtown and making parts of the city feel more connected to one another.  The residents might say that they want streetcars to run at no greater than 20 minute intervals most of the day, on most days.

Politically, a transit plan composed of such elements would benefit more than 144,000 residents in 4 area ZIP codes.  That is over half the residents of Reno.  A plan that shows them where their money is being spent and how it benefits them will have a much better chance at the ballot box.

Reno-Tahoe: Far From Expected

I’m a little ashamed of myself for not writing about Reno-Tahoe’s new campaign tagline (“Far From Expected”) yet – but I’ve been holding back, trying to fully understand what it’s all about  - and I think I’ve got it all figured out.

Comps of the new Reno-Tahoe USA “Far From Expected” Campaign Creative

It’s good news, folks.  Good news.

Let’s just make one thing clear up front:  at first, I didn’t like it.  I wrote a spirited defense before of “A Little West of Center” which I thought was a great tagline in general – a nice association between the brand and a concept.

However, it’s become clear after reading up as much as possible on this subject that the new slogan makes a lot of sense.  It’s important to note:  this slogan is a slogan that will go with a batch of commercials and flyers, and is not the slogan that will always get tagged on to the name of the destination, Reno-Tahoe.  The new thing that is always tagged on to Reno-Tahoe is USA, which actually works pretty well.

Now that I know that this slogan isn’t permanent, I’m satisfied.  It shouldn’t have to live up to being forever associated with the whole regional brand.  That is one of the tragic errors of “America’s Adventure Place”.

In the initial comps that have been shared, there’s a hidden gem, right there at the bottom:

Laughter is contagious, and fun always finds a way.  More often than not, it finds its way here.

That’s a pretty good bit of emotional writing that gives us the building blocks for another tagline for another campaign:  “Fun Always Finds Its Way Here”.

Anyway the new brand looks good.  If the commercials and other creative can paint the right kind of picture this new marketing effort could mean some growth in the Reno tourist market.  Such growth is long overdue.

Streetfilms on Putting Transit in Conservative Terms

This great video on Streetfilms about William Lind’s book Moving Minds:  Conservatives and Public Transportation shows the importance of knowing your audience when trying to make an argument for public transit, particularly rail based transit.

With Reno considering building a light rail system on Virginia Street (which they should do), it will be important for people who want to see such a system built to really think about the way they can win at the ballot box.  In the last election voters soundly rejected a measure that would have increased sales tax just to keep the bus system operating at pre-downturn levels.

Last Call… In reno?

Not as in, Reno’s done for but… downtown Reno may be getting a closing time.

City Council has asked for one prominent downtown bar, Second Street Bar (which is slated to become Gringo’s following an expansion in progress… more on that later), to close at 4 am and they have agreed to it, in exchange for getting a sidewalk abandonment to install a wheelchair ramp.

This blog has brought up the topic of closing time in Reno before – it’s a scary concept as a Native Nevadan, something vaguely unsettling about bars closing, however… it’s a good idea.

Downtown Reno nightlife can occasionally be quite intimidating and even can turn violent.  A commenter on Facebook mentions seeing a glass smashed in someone’s face.  This author has witnessed head butting.

Closing all the bars at once, or just arbitrarily cutting people off at a certain time, isn’t necessarily a requirement in having good civil order.  Closing all the bars at once might create a worse situation as the rush to last call creates binge drinking, followed by a drunken mob on the sidewalks outside the bars and then a mess of cars driven by drunks as the commuter partiers return from whence they came. 

Bars should take a good look at what being in business does for them, and the community, and then decide when to close.  A 4 am closing time is a pretty reasonable cutoff even in an entertainment district.  A city need not market itself as a 24 hour party zone, after all.  Some bars downtown are already well aware of this, and already close.

A series of staggered closings and “wind-downs” might be the best policy.  Serious debauchery is called to be good and done with by 2.  This might mean no more loud music, no more cocktail service, and any place that wants to stay open needs to have food onsite.  All drinking would cease by sometime in the 4 O’clock hour.  Police presence between 11 pm and 5 am would be stepped up.

It’s important to remember that the cause of this discussion even happening, is public nuisance.  Thus the creation of a more safe, sane and civil environment is the desired outcome – not a set of arbitrary regulations that merely push undesirable behavior elsewhere while leaving behind a ghost town.  Creating an attitude of civility, respect and some restraint, while still keeping the festivities going on late would be a winning proposition for Reno.

By the way, the owner of Gringo’s is a genius for picking the name.  Someone named Tom Cladianos might not naturally be expected to be doing a Mexican restaurant.  We don’t really know what will emerge in that location.  But for anyone looking at the name as a grammatical faux pas writ large, there should be a section in the menu that at least makes clear:  the owner of Gringo’s is a gringo.  It’s grammatically correct.

Reno: Woolworth’s Renovation Rendering

Downtown Makeover linked a while back to a NNBW article stating that the Woolworth’s building in downtown Reno is slated to undergo some changes – ripping off a bunch of bad facade to bring it up to more modern standards, and to make the building marketable for retail and other uses.

It’s about time!  Recently a commenter over there mentioned having seen people already working on the building.

A tiny amount of digging around on the internet found the Collier’s page about the building.  If you look at the flyer for the project, you can even get a look at what the building will look like at night empty and lit up.

Woolworth’s Building after Renovation – Reno, NV source:  Colliers Int’l

Reno: Redevelopment Strategies Get a Good Hearing At City Council

This blog has been harping on the approach to redevelopment in Nevada, and in Reno in particular, for a while.  While it is encouraging to note positive developments such as Aces Ballpark, the movie theater complex, the West Street Market, and the kayak park, it’s somewhat disheartening to find that downtown, all over, businesses are barely able to stay open.  Retail is almost nonexistent downtown, and several blocks of Virginia Street, on one side or the other (thankfully not both sides) are severely blighted.  There are vacant buildings all over the place.

Recently, La Bussola boutique was evicted from its storefront.  La Bussola responded to this incident with a public statement posted on God Hates Reno, and the business’ owner, Meredith Tanzer, was lucky to have just recently opened a bar on 4th Street called Treehouse Lounge – providing a location for much of her former stock until it could be cleared out, and a business to run in the meantime.  She, however, cited problems with her landlord in the eviction and problems finding a new retail space downtown because of inflexibility on the part of property owners regarding reasonable terms of occupancy.

Also recently, Cavanaugh’s Fine Furniture announced it was closing.  In the Reno Gazette-Journal, Richard Oppio, the store’s owner, cited the inflexibility of his building’s owner, The City of Reno, in adjusting his lease rate downward to help him in a time of down sales.

So we’ve seen that the RDA is capable of good, even great work, and it’s clear they’re not slackers.  But, working to improve the overall business climate in the city seems to be something they don’t consider their mandate today, as evidenced by a recent exchange between Councilwoman Sharon Zadra and Redevelopment Director John Hester, at the 10/7/09 City Council Meeting.

Zadra asked Hester if the RDA was doing anything to help the downtown business community in terms of helping them identify what would be lucrative business opportunities for them in these down economic times.  She didn’t go into detail but with what we know from the two previous examples, let’s say a furniture store accustomed to dealing in particularly high end merchandise is on the rocks.  This is due to the recession and the fact that nearby residences aren’t filing up nearly as quickly, nor with the sort of clientele, upon which the business plan for the store originally rested.  Does the RDA as an entity function in any kind of advisory capacity?

Hester’s answer was telling.  The RDA, he said, is helping prospective businesses in the West Street Market to identify sources of funding and business assistance.

Zadra at that point had to follow up.  No, she meant the entire downtown business community existing within the bounds of the redevelopment district.

Hester replied that the RDA will sometimes help an interested party determine whether they could obtain financial assistance through the city’s Opportunity Growth Fund (OGF), and will put them in touch with UNR’s Nevada Small Business Development Center (NSBDC).

After I was done viewing the meeting, I went in search of a web page about the OGF.  Multiple search engines do not display a summary web page about this resource – they display PDF files which are minutes or agendas from prior meetings where it was discussed.  The NSBDC is focused on providing technical assistance to small businesses statewide.

Big projects – big developments like the theater complex and the ballpark represent important lynchpins for downtown in the form of attractions.  It’s possible that a model like the West Street Market provides some glimpse into a future for other blighted properties. 

But the problem today seems to be the lack of a methodical approach on the part of the RDA to organizing a groundswell of entrepreneurship to help fill the vacant real estate downtown.  RDA could well act as a broker – helping property owners access funds to assist with beautification and tenant improvements, while helping entrepreneurs access funding and other resources. 

In the case of Cavanaugh’s, a furniture store located in a city owned parking garage, if the business plan had been altered in line with Zadra’s question, the store itself might have been able to function as a draw to downtown pulling customers from around the city looking for a different product.  Yes, it takes something on the part of the business owner to identify that market and that opportunity or at least go looking for it and help finding it.  But, to use an old advertising slogan, you could have heard a pin drop at news of La Bussola’s closing, and Cavanaugh’s closing, if you were on the line waiting for the city, or the RDA, to say or do something to help either.

There are other unanswered questions.  What exactly is Downtown Reno envisioned as?  Is it an evening entertainment district?  Bars and restaurants don’t seem to be having trouble.  Is all that to be encouraged at the expense of any kind of decent daytime street life or retail activity?  Is the new “ballpark retail” currently under construction some sort of panacea?  Will the myriad of business associations downtown merge or otherwise give way to a single downtown association capable of providing what the RDA will not, or cannot?

That the discussion is happening in council meetings is a good sign.  The future success of downtown Reno depends on the discussion producing some positive results.

In Defense of “A Little West of Center”

It’s been hard to keep from talking about the obsession (a healthy one at the moment, fine with me) that Reno has with its image at the moment.

The community seems to have overreacted incredibly negatively to the idea of the tourism slogan being “A Little West of Center” as brought forth by the agency that did a lot of good brand research for the RSCVA lately.  This has been praised elsewhere and includes a new logo, which is a good logo and the concept “Reno-Tahoe USA” is a great concept as a starting point.

In fact, with just the logo and Reno-Tahoe USA, the RSCVA is positioned well to craft a range of regional marketing taglines targeted at specific visitor demographics that highlight the diverse mix of destinations and venues Western Nevada has to offer.

However, the outrage, which seems overdone on the part of many people, over (the rejected) “A Little West of Center” slogan is really unbelievable.  People’s reaction:  overwhelmingly “What is that supposed to mean?” is always played to paint the advocate into a corner.  Mayor Bob Cashell’s quip “What do they mean, Virginia Street?” was actually funny but still I think the aversion to it comes from people naturally, in their mind, associating the phrase with its source “A little left of center”, which many leaders in and around the Reno area may be repulsed to believe anyone would think of their area.

Reno wears its relative conservatism on its sleeve a lot, which isn’t really a bad thing except when it provokes knee-jerk reactions like this.

Facts are, it’s a pretty socially liberal place, with plenty to do for drinkers, gamblers, gay people, artists, and really anyone who wishes to live in an unconventional manner.  But the conservative “out west” attitude that prevails in the enjoyment of going out in the mountains and shooting at cans, or wanting to keep base costs of government services low, pervades and infuses a natural skepticism of pretty much all of the advancements and trappings of modernity even as it seeks to take advantage of those advancements.

Hey, it’s what I think of when I think “A Little West of Center”  Frankly, it would have done Reno ok.

I’m happy to not be the only person writing about Reno’s twitchy attitude.  Gay Rodeo of God Hates Reno busts forth with the proclamation that:

“Nope, we’re just assholes apparently.  Countless people I’ve encountered that either move here or visit mention this, the tenseness, the bravado, the needing to prove… something… in this town.  I mean, look at this website.”

One day I was walking across Liberty Street on Sierra headed down to California Avenue from downtown proper, and some guy in a pickup truck honked at me because I wasn’t walking fast enough!  In the crosswalk!  While the walk sign was lit.  I like to imagine him imagining himself being associated by power of suggestion with a bunch of tree huggin’ hippies thanks to this slogan created by some San Francisco elites who misjudged his town by way of said slogan.

It did set people off, so just as well that it’s gone.  What comes next is anybody’s guess.  But at the end of the day, I’m not going to be the only one scratching my head on occasion when I witness things like this, and saying to myself , “What in blazes?”  Perhaps one day Reno will collectively take a good deep breath and relax for a second.  Until then we observers will have plenty to marvel at.

The Curse of the Lack of Discipline: Where is the Line Drawn in Public Affairs?

The Reno Redevelopment Agency is broke.  After having committed the City of Reno to a million dollars a year more in subsidies to the developers of the baseball stadium in Reno for the next decade, they have essentially run themselves out of the ability to take on anymore projects from a reliable funding source, ie, taxes that are levied as per the special Redevelopment District.

That’s sad, as we’re coming to learn, because there are a lot of projects that are on the table right now – and which may have to be dropped if someone can’t get real creative, real fast.

Perhaps one of the most important of such projects is the Facade Improvement Program, which was to focus on improving facades along a couple blocks worth (give or take) of Virginia Street frontage.  Mike at Reno Realty Blog calls the street NVA in reference to North Virginia, with SVA being the opposite direction, a method of identifying the street this blog heartily endorses.

The approach that was taken was that the RDA would take on the project as a demonstration project, doing about a half million dollars’ worth of work, to improve one of the worst spots in downtown – what I call the “Center Block” – the west side of NVA between 2nd and Commercial Row.  This blighted block has much former casino facade, papered over as liquor store and pawn shop facade.  Today it’s worse still.  There’s casino facade papered over as liquor store facade papered over as a bakery (granted the bakery just opened, and let’s all go and try some of this dude’s bread, post haste, and regularly I might add if he’s any good.)

This post started out being somewhat about the money the RDA doesn’t have, which is funny, because money the RDA could spend, if it keeps a few RDA employees, is all over the place – if they get smart about raising it.  In particular the facade plan, which seems to be in limbo at the moment – recommended for reprioritization, could take advantage of CBDG funds.  If it’s not the same thing, the property owners and small businesses inhabiting those properties could also qualify for SBA loans to secure financing for their individual storefronts.

This is where the RDA could shine.  As a junction point between private VC, public bond and “A” loans, foundation money, and spillover tax revenue; and entrepreneurs, business owners and building and property owners in target districts.

One thing that’s been missing all along – a methodical, programmatic approach, is just one thing.  Another thing is the lack of foresight with the allocation of funding resources to projects.  Projects sit in the imagination of some plan or official for 25 years or more, and it’s frequently an emergency, or some stroke of luck which allows them to proceed.  It’s not just the RDA that takes this approach.  A few years ago some friends sold their house to escape an assessment district on their place to replace the sidewalks and resurface the streets in their neighborhood that would raise the property tax for the year by a considerable amount.  The question most naturally springing to mind was, “Why wasn’t the City trickling this money into a fund over the past 20 years.”

It’s the same with so many projects, blighted properties, and missed opportunities in Reno today and over the years.  This is one reason to celebrate that Reno is now committed to truly subsidizing the baseball project, the second phase of which is due to begin construction, the developers tell us, any day now.

Corus Bancshares Seized by Regulators

In a long-anticipated development, Corus Bancshares, which owns several severely distressed condominium developments nationwide including Reno’s excellent Montage project, has been seized by federal regulators.

Bank seizures have a habit of occurring after close of news cycle on a Friday.  Speculation has been rampant regarding the fate of the company’s projects, which sit largely abandoned in housing markets once thought to be red hot, in states like Florida and Nevada.

Reno will be likely impacted by whatever becomes of the company.  The Montage project has failed to fill many units.  Housing built during the bubble of the first decade of the twenty-first century was terribly overpriced.  The building until now has continued to be managed by its principal developer, Fernando Leal, who according to some accounts has continued to work aggressively to fill the building.

It will be interesting to see which entity owns up in possession of Corus’ troubled assets.