Two more building permits have emerged for Reno Revival, and with each permit submitted, my excitement raises just a little bit and confidence grows that this project may be completed after all. Located at 219 University Way, Reno Revival (formerly Reno City Center and Harrah's) has been through it. "It" being nearly everything bad imaginable. I think a reality series could be made about this project. It was Harrah's, but Caesar's was forced to unload it when they acquired other local properties, to prevent a monopoly. Developer CAI Investments bought it, I believe for around $50 million, and had plans to convert it into mixed-use residential/office/commercial/retail. Right as they began construction, COVID hit in 2020, shutting everything down. Then new OSHA requirements for COVID and lack of available skilled labor cursed the project even more. THEN, there was the summer of fires in 2021, where air quality was so bad, some construction crews couldn't work for weeks and weeks. All the pressure and cost overruns led to internal battles, a major tenant pulling out of the project (Clear Capital) which jeapardized future funding needed to finish the project, add in a couple lawsuits, a bankruptcy, emerging from bankruptcy with a new owner, bringing us to today where the project has a new owner, general contractor, developer and architect, along with a new name. Anyway, I've been waiting for years along with the rest of you for permits to start rolling in again, and here we go.
Permit 1 reads: REMODEL. 1ST FLOOR LOBBIES IN SEGMENTS B, D, & F.
Permit 2 reads: COMMERCIAL REMODEL & ADDITION - REMODEL. ELECTRICAL PLUMBING MECHANICAL STRUCTURAL LANDLORD IMPROVEMENTS OF THE EXISTING BUILDING FOR FUTURE TENANT BUILD-OUT. NO TI WORK INCLUDED. BUILDING WILL NOT BE OCCUPIED AFTER RENOVATION. FUTURE TENANT WILL BE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT A FULL CODE ANALYSIS BASED ON THEIR FLOOR PLAN LAYOUT UNDER SEPARATE PERMIT. PARTIAL DEMO OF LEVEL B1 AND LEVEL 01 OF EXISTING WALLS, DOORS, FRAMES, WALL FINISHES, FLOORING, CEILING, AND NON-FUNCTIONAL ESCALATORS. NEW CEILING TILES ON LEVEL 03. RENOVATION OF EXTERIOR ENCLOSURE INCLUDING REPLACEMENT STOREFRONT, WINDOWS, AND NEW WINDOW OPENINGS. ALL ROOF MATERIAL IS TO BE REPLACED. FIRE SPRINKLERS REMAIN OPERATIONAL.