If you've been following the Sierra Street Bridge replacement timeline, and you're a downtowner, you probably already know that the construction project is going to scramble things for a stretch of downtown along Island Avenue, Sierra Street, the Riverwalk, 1st Street and even 2nd Street to a degree. The primary phase of the bridge replacement is slated to begin April 2027.
You can watch the presentation from RTC on the Sierra Street Bridge in the April Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board meeting here. Some board members had concerns over how the bridge replacement willl impact one of downtown's few thriving 'corners' where vacancy rate is relatively low, and is also a primary walking corridor for the river.
One of the businesses in the crosshairs is The Eddy - the outdoor bar and entertainment complex that's been operating near the corner of Sierra Street and Island Avenue for over a decade.
Buckster LLC (the company that operates The Eddy) submitted an unsolicited Letter of Intent to City Manager Jackie Bryant asking to lease - and eventually buy - two publicly owned parcels that together make up most of what people know as Believe Plaza, or more formally, City Plaza. The proposal landed on the June 1 agenda for the Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board (RAAB) which means it could head to the RDA Board/Reno City Council after that. Part of this property is owned by the City and part of it owned by the RDA, so I am not sure if it will be the City Council or RDA Board or both that would hear this proposal after the RAAB.
Here's a breakdown of what's in the LOI.
The Site
The proposal covers two side-by-side parcels:
30 N. Virginia Street (APN 011-606-04) — the City-owned parcel that functions as the public plaza/open space along the river corridor, currently known as City Plaza
0 S. Center Street (APN 011-606-05) — an RDA-owned parcel next door that's been sitting as a surface parking lot
Combined, those two parcels total about 35,329 square feet and are zoned Mixed Use Downtown Riverwalk District. Both have been identified in the Virginia Street Placemaking Study and the Truckee River Vision Plan as candidates for improved public activation and river-oriented amenities — though no specific development plans have ever moved past the study phase.
What The Eddy Is Proposing
The LOI describes a privately operated outdoor entertainment venue consisting of:
- Outdoor bar and lounge
- Food truck court with rotating vendors
- A permanent pizza restaurant
- Pickleball courts (open to the public, available for private reservation, and convertible for concerts)
- Children's play area
- Entertainment stage shared with the City/RDA
The Eddy frames this as a relocation rather than a new project - driven by the expected operational disruption from the Sierra Street Bridge construction, which they say will hit them with reduced accessibility, construction staging conflicts, safety limitations, and prolonged noise.
The Deal They're Asking For
This is where most of the public discussion will end up focused.
Ground Lease Terms (both parcels):
Lease term: 5 years, with three optional 5-year renewals — meaning up to 20 years of control if all options are exercised
Base rent: $1.00 per year
Security deposit: None
Rent start: 5 months after lease execution, or January 1, 2027, whichever comes first
Improvements: The Eddy pays for all construction at their own cost, with some discussion possible on the RDA parcel for jointly beneficial improvements
On top of the lease, the LOI requests an option to purchase both parcels. No price is specified — the LOI says fair market value would be determined by a MAI appraisal at the time of exercise. Closing would need to happen within 180 days of the option being exercised.
Other conditions they're asking for include a waiver of conditional use permit requirements, issuance of a cabaret license, and access to the City-owned parking garage.
The LOI makes the case that the project would generate roughly 5 full-time and 30 seasonal jobs, produce sales tax revenue and possessor's interest property taxes, and provide a lit, staffed, and activated public space that discourages the kinds of problems that tend to cluster around underutilized downtown real estate.
The food truck court is positioned as an entry point for small food vendors. The stage is pitched as a shared asset with the city. The pickleball courts are offered as public recreation during off-peak times.
No due diligence has been done yet. The list of things that haven't been evaluated includes financial analysis, market analysis, site feasibility, infrastructure assessment, floodplain review, property appraisal, parking implications, legal review, and consistency analysis with long-term site objectives. The board is being asked to advise the Redevelopment Agency Board on direction, not to approve anything.
The Options on the Table
Staff laid out four paths the board can recommend:
Option 1 — Decline to pursue the LOI.
Option 2 — Ask for more before deciding. Direct the proposer to come back with more complete project information — concept plans, operational details, financial capacity documentation, infrastructure needs, flood analysis, parking plan, etc.
Option 3 — Enter an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA). Give staff the green light to formally negotiate with The Eddy. Any deal reached would still come back to the full board and/or City Council for final approval.
Option 4 — Open it up to competition. Rather than negotiating with a single proposer, issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) or Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to see what the broader market would propose for this site.
The board can also weigh in on questions like how the public's interest in the plaza gets preserved, what rent structure makes sense for a commercial tenant operating on public land, and how the long-term disposition of these parcels aligns with the city's overall riverfront strategy.
The full staff report and LOI are in the June 1, 2026 City Council/RAAB meeting packet. The meeting is open to the public.