Wingfield Towers
Wingfield Towers. Perhaps nothing created more controversy than this project, from overshadowing poor little Park Tower to creating gargantuan shade over Wingfield Park in the winter to parking and traffic nightmares. The project was approved by the city council, and planning, and ready to move forward, but alas could not secure funding.
It was a gloriously opulent twin-tower residential project 40-stories tall that would have reshaped Reno's skyline forever.
The developers tried to really pursue this project for a while, even after everyone else had given up, I got reports they were on the hunt for investors in foreign countries, but alas nothing ever became of it. The lot remains vacant today. You get a really good view of Reno's skyline from the top fo this undeveloped lot.
History of Wingfield Towers
11/15/06 - WINGFIELD TOWERS - CITY COUNCIL UPHOLDS PLANNING COMMISSION DECISION - The City council, in tonight's meeting has approved Wingfield Towers and upholds the Planning Commission's initial approval. Yippee! In the City Council meeting, it all came down to two main issues, traffic and ice. It seemed there were more people FOR the project at the meeting than against it. No one was outright against it, those who opposed it just had concerns about the scale. The developers, and developers' representatives, however were very good at addressing each of the issues. Sharon Zadra was impressed at the environmentally progressive design of the project. The main concerns came from Dan Gustin, as they should since it's his district. But ultimately, he upheld the decision of the planning commission.
UPDATE 6-27-06: Here it is! You saw it here first, amazing pictures and renderings of the proposed Wingfield Towers project for Island Ave/Court St. Here are some initial specs: The plan is to have two towers, one 40 stories tall, and one 28 stories tall. There will be approx. 40,000 sq ft. retail/commercial space on both Island Ave and Court St., and retail/commercial space on the plaza level of the project as well. The project will form an L shape between Court and Island Ave. Nearly half the site will be dedicated toward a public plaza to contribute to downtown events. The entire project is around $200,000,000, and approx. $4,000,000 is slated to go towards a public art project that will most likely pay tribute to downtown's history, possibly the history of the property itself including the ill-fated Wingfield Mansion which burned down a few years back.
Total Residential Units= 499
East Tower = 334
West Tower = 161
Garage Access Units = 4
Minimum Residential Unit Size= 378± Sq. Ft.
Maximum Residential Unit Size= 7,014± Sq. Ft.
Average Residential Unit Size= 1,243± Sq. Ft.
Non-Residential Uses
Retail/Office = 40,500± sq. ft.
Mechanical Area = 32,951± sq. ft.
Community Benefits:
. Meets the Truckee Meadows Regional Plan Goals and Policies for Intensification
. 48% of Site Provided in Public Plaza/Open Space Area for a Community Tie-in to Special Events
. Over 40,000 SF of Office/Retail Space
. Improved Street Scene on Island Drive and Court Street
. Potential Additional Parking for Existing Uses that Currently Experience Parking Issues
. Maintain and strengthen the continuing energy and momentum in Downtown Reno
. Increased Tax Benefit to Redevelopment District 2.
Comments:
Post your commentsPosted by: Royce - 3/9/2007 8:35:07 AM
Does anybody know if this is going to break ground this year as planned still?
Posted by: Henderson - 3/11/2007 8:10:29 AM
The developer committed to "breaking ground immediately. What is the current scheduled date and if there is a delay is there any requirement for clean up or temporary use of the site. The current owner (including the historic brick building) has not been held accountable for the condition of the property in the past. Why doesn't the City enforce the existing code regarding maintenance? Why do downtowners have to accept this eyesore?
Posted by: Mike Van H - 3/11/2007 9:57:09 AM
I believe it is supposed to break ground in 2008. What's interesting though is the current owners still have not sold the land to Wingfield Towers. There are a lot of rumors about the project not being built etc, and my more recent emails to the developers have not been returned. I don't think there is much you can do with the property on a temporary basis because of it's slope. We'll see what happens!
Posted by: Brian - 5/1/2007 12:44:35 PM
From RGJ The city of Reno in November approved the 499 units of the Wingfield Towers on Court Street near Arlington Avenue and spokesman Chris Barrett said it is on schedule with groundbreaking still set for this fall. http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070428/NEWS10/704280354/1016/NEWS Yeaa i really am anxious to see this go thru. Come on and get built Wingfield towers.
Posted by: Andy - 5/19/2007 4:13:16 PM
Does anybody have a website for this project?
Posted by: Mike Van H - 5/20/2007 9:31:09 AM
HEy Andy! It's http://www.wingfieldtowers.com but they don't have anything up yet on it.
Posted by: larry d - 7/4/2007 12:48:23 PM
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Posted by: Mike Oh - 7/22/2007 11:18:13 PM
I would SO much rather the space be used for 2 towers that resembled Park Tower but were all brand new and modern. If some towers were built there that were no more than 3-5 stories taller than Park Tower, it would fit in perfectly. Park Tower is my favorite looking condo building in Reno and it would be so awesome if some matching towers were built there. I mean, they wouldn't even have to resemble it that much to satisfy me, I just don't want to see a monstrous condo complex ruin the atmosphere of that area. Plus, the proposed design is hideous.
Posted by: ken - 7/23/2007 7:48:08 PM
+1 Mike Oh Best idea I've heard in a long time.
Posted by: Jake - 8/1/2007 11:24:23 AM
"monstrous condo complex"???? this project is under 40 stories and land is almost non existent in reno/sparks so how exactly are we supposed to sustain growth over the next 20 years? this project promotes progressive urban development in a downtown area that dominated by outdated, semi trashy hotels. we need something like this to set a good standard and hopefully a good trend for the area. we need to promote vertical construction with features such as rooftop gardens and neighborhood markets with restaurants, groceries, commercial business etc etc. the world's population will double over the next 50 years and we're complaining about a 30 story building? right now there are MANY condo towers being built over 70 stories in this great world to compensate for this ever increasing population! should reno just float along without pushing itself to compete with other urban areas that are willing to grow?
Posted by: Rance - 9/2/2007 6:11:13 PM
What is the latest on these Towers? Are they going up or not. If anyone has a clue ... please post it.
Posted by: mr knowit - 11/7/2007 4:59:07 PM
there is a new buyer/developer and plans are to move forward
Posted by: soletosoul - 2/15/2008 11:19:19 AM
I heard this project is fully approved and financed. Is that a fact? If not, I have interested parties that can provide financing and/or purchase this property.
Posted by: Mike Van H - 2/15/2008 11:47:37 AM
Hi soletosoul, this project couldn't quite get off the ground. It was approved by the Planning Commission, but then I believe the developers couldn't get the financing required to purchase the property before some kind of deadline. At least that's the cycle of events most of us here were able to piece together in the project's last constroversial moments. So then I believe they filed bankruptcy or planned to file bankruptcy to put a freeze on the deadline to purchase the property, but not much is known what happened after that. I know they had a certain amount of time to come up with the financing, but its unknown officially if they succeeded or not.
Posted by: ee - 3/31/2010 11:22:10 PM
does anyone have an update on the project?
Posted by: Downtown Makeover Dude - 4/1/2010 12:02:46 AM
Last I heard, it was dead, and very unrealistic in this market. I found this web site http://wingfieldventures.com/ which has a copyright date for 2010 (which means someone is still updating the site, i.e. not stagnent) so perhaps someone is still trying to sell the project as a whole package.
Posted by: Kenny - 6/8/2010 2:35:32 PM
Its in a legal limbo, lawsuits, all the fun stuff. They are still trying to package it as is to anyone who appears to be interested