News 9-21-07 Baseball Stadium Approved

Groundbreaking is January 1. So that's that! It's approved, the land deals are approved, everyone's happy with what they got, the city council is almost more elated about Herbert Simon's plans for retail on several blocks surrounding the stadium than they are about the stadium. I didn't get to watch the meeting, that nasty thing called work got in the way, and trying to watch a City Council meeting successfully online is brutal. The entire project is over $90 million, and the stadium itself is $42 million roughly. Just one final stop on the government train to Washoe County to approve the car-rental tax deal, and we're good to go! The amazing thing about this deal was it was put together in a mere three months. The deal includes a land deal for Siena Communities which includes the parcel next to the Artist Lofts, the Men's Club lot, and property along Commercial Row. The City would get a loan from the developers for $10 million to relocate the fire station. I 'think' the city may be following the Trench Master Plan idea of eventually combining a police and fire station over by Keystone south of the train trench. So Siena gets decent land trades for their Freight House District parcel, and hopefully received more usable parcels out of the deal. It will be interesting to see what they do with the parcel adjacent to Riverside Lofts. Design plans can take months or even years so let's not expect something overnight.

Post your comments
Posted by: wiley_n_reno - 9/21/2007 7:39:59 PM
I walked around the site for the proposed ballpark and it is indeed a great location -- esp. if they can incorporate the river frontage into it somehow. Saw a proposed team name in RGJ today - "The Reno Sparks" ! Just Perfect !

Posted by: David - 9/23/2007 6:37:17 PM
I like the Reno Sparks. This project will be so huge for downtown, it is very exciting. It will be interesting to see what siena does with their properties.

Posted by: Darell - 9/27/2007 5:02:54 PM
So what does this mean for the Waterfront Towers? Part of the project, to be relocated, kaput? Or was it just a pipe dream in the first place?

Posted by: KRae - 10/8/2007 6:31:38 PM
same developer who was supposed to break ground on the thoma lofts. key word being "supposed"