Jacobs Entertainment is breaking ground on their first ground-up aparetment project tomorrow, May 10, on the corner of Arlington and 2nd Street.
The project will be the Reno Neon Line District's first ground-up project.
Jacob's Entertainment is also in the process of updating the Sand's Casino, including painting it this month in a gray and blue color scheme, and working on their Glow Plaza, whose conditional use permit to hold live events is currently under appeal and will be heard this Wednesday at the Reno City Council Meeting.
The apartment project, named 245 North Arlington, according to the RGJ, will consist of 60 apartments instead of condominiums, after Jacobs Entertainment determined condominiums wouldn't be financially feasible.
This falls in line with the recent trend of apartment-only projects, as it allows banks financing the projects have a greater return on their investment over a longer period of time, due to high construction costs.
The average cost to construct a mid-rise apartment building can range from $15,000,000 to $60,000,000 or more.
10% of this project will be affordable on the workforce housing level, or 6 units. Urban Land Institute defines workforce housing as: "housing that is affordable to households earning 60 to 120 percent of the area median income." The Area Median Income (AMI) is currently $83,800 a year for a family of 4. I'm not sure what it is for a single individual or couple. 60% of AMI is $50,100. 60% AMI is considered housing burdened if rent and utilities exceeds $1,252 a month. So if Jacobs is using that model, rent for a one bedroom or studio dubbed as 'affordable' should fall slightly under that. Exciting!
The project will consist of 36 one-bedroom apartments, 16 studio units eight two-bedroom apartments.
The renderings are conceptual, and the design is subject to change as construction begins.
You can find a full list of articles and posts on my reporting of the Reno Neon Line here, including how their conceptual designs have changed over the years.
