Envisioning West Reno’s Transformation
Reno needs a vision for the west downtown.
Reno has a long and tumultuous history with mega-projects promising to redefine downtown, filled with ambitious visions from charismatic developers. Unfortunately, these grandiose ventures rarely fulfill their lofty promises, often leaving taxpayers burdened and the cityscape dotted with unfinished dreams. The Neon District, the latest in a long line of these projects, is no different.
Consider the West 2nd Street District. It was pitched as a transformative development that would double the size of Reno’s downtown area, complete with artistic renderings of beautiful, tall buildings. The proposal promised vibrant public spaces and innovative infrastructures, including for residential and business. Yet despite its grand vision, the project never got off the ground.
Who could forget the Reno Expo Center? Proposed as a colossal mall, convention center, and hotel complex at the CitiCenter bus station site, also known as Partnership Plaza, which never materialized. The CitiCenter location has been the subject of numerous pie-in-the-sky redevelopment schemes, none of which have succeeded.
While RED Development eventually succeeded in transforming the site of the old Park Lane Mall, that project fell far short of its original scale. They didn’t build all of the apartments, and people complain that the rents are too high. RED serves as a reminder that initial promises often become heavily scaled-down realities, as they don’t match the economic situation.
The latest development is Jacobs Entertainment and its Neon Line vision. They started acquiring properties in Reno, west of downtown, in 2015, starting with the Gold Dust West. They promised redevelopment, including apartments. They got permits to knock down many weekly rental motels and displaced hundreds of low-income residents. After acquiring 100 properties, Jacobs has built only one property and renovated one, and has not fulfilled its promises to develop the area.
Jacobs has cited the high cost of construction, and some people say that Jacobs overpaid for the properties. This process of relying on a single developer to undertake a mega-project has not been successful. There has to be a better way to redevelop the area. If developers can’t afford to build low-income housing, perhaps we should focus on job growth and higher-paying jobs.
Office Space and Job Growth
Earlier this year, an article on NNBW discussed the low vacancy and strong state of the office space market in Reno, following the sale of two small office buildings. The article states that downtown Reno has 1.4 million sq. ft. of office space.
Let's put that in perspective. The Sales Force Tower in San Francisco spans 1.4 million square feet. One building equals all of the office space in downtown Reno. Reno has low vacancy because we have low inventory, not because of a strong market.
People often discuss the need for affordable housing, but the problem remains unsolved. Rentals in Reno are about 40% lower than in the Bay Area. I see hundreds of ads for apartment rentals, but no one can afford them. Perhaps the issue is a shortage of good-paying jobs resulting from insufficient office space. Maybe we can fix wages.
Recently, I attended Reno Startup Week. It was an inspiring event. Many people want to start businesses that offer good-paying jobs, but there is a lack of office space available for them. There are smaller Bay Area tech companies that might relocate to Reno, given the lower cost of doing business and the shorter commutes that could result from additional office space.
The campus in Palo Alto where I worked spans approximately 120 acres and features over 1 million square feet of office space. It was beautiful, park-like. A pleasure to visit. The Jacobs Neon Line zone spans approximately 120 acres. There are many empty lots in this area that, combined, are enough to build over 500,000 sq. ft. of office space, even with smaller buildings, and could add over 50% to the downtown office space.
The problem appears to be that the City Council provided Jacobs with incentives to purchase over 100 lots, demolish motels, and construct parking lots without a committed development plan for much else, and without a thorough examination of how Jacobs would finance the project.
(Note: I will be posting an article on the latest promises from Jacobs)
Reno Needs a Plan
What if the City could motivate Jacobs to sell to builders or form a joint venture with them on some of the empty lots, and Reno could develop a plan to attract office space developers and Bay Area startup companies, thereby bringing higher-paying jobs to Reno?
It would take a coordinated effort. Jacobs could provide land at a discount or offer lease subsidies for startups and growing tech firms, and deliver on their promise to redevelop the area.
Reno could incentivize the development of office space & tech hubs by offering reduced business license fees for developers who build office space and to companies that relocate.
Reno could fast-track permitting by implementing expedited approval processes for commercial developments that align with economic growth objectives.
Reno could collaborate with developers and permit mixed-use development through zoning that allows for tech parks, co-working spaces, and residential areas near commercial hubs.
Reno can promote the absence of state income tax, opportunity zone benefits, and position itself as an Emerging Tech Hub with a high quality of life, lower costs, and business-friendly policies.
What if West Reno could bring the vision of the West 2nd Street District plan to life?
Perhaps this is just another case of wishful thinking, but as I travel through the area on my way from home to downtown and see the state of the neighborhood, I realize that something needs to be done.
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