Liberty Buildings Demolished

As I originally reported here, the Liberty Buildings have now been leveled. The buildings were not structurally sound from what I've been told, and even the artist who painted the murals, John Ton, did not have an issue with seeing the buildings go.

Arterra was originally planned for this lot, which has since been bought by its neighbor to the West. It could be anything from a surface parking lot (I hope not) to a new office building, to maybe even new residential.

ReTRAC Covers Back in Play

The ReTrac train trench covers, located downtown between Commercial Row and Third Street, and between Virginia Street and Arlington Avenue, are back in play after a Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board meeting.

Noble Pie Parlor Signs Lease at 777 Center

Noble Pie Parlor will be opening a Midtown location at 777 Center.

Kings Inn Completely Gutted

The Kings Inn is now completely gutted. You can see right through it. All of the exterior windows have been removed, leaving only support columns and the ceiling and floors. This leaves a clean slate for a variety of architectural styles.

I am hearing through the grapevine 'luxury apartments' with floor-to-ceiling glass, stained concrete floors, etc. That's just a rumor though.

Wild Garlic Opening Downtown Location

I was strolling through downtown with my dog Hans today and noticed Wild Garlic is moving into 170 South Viginia Street, where Fuego formerly served up hot tapas.

S3 Development Gears Up to Make an Impact in Midtown

With permits pulled to do some demo and grading work at 1401 South Virginia Street, Midtown Loft plans finalized and ready for construction within a few weeks, and Uptown Square on the Horizon, S3 Development is set to make a significant impact on MidTown.

A Walkable Downtown Reno

Downtown Reno is now in a second wave of development, with many projects going on, perhaps more than any other point in this blog's 10-year history.

It's the perfect time to discuss downtown Reno's  walkability, how far it's come in the past 10 years, and the weak areas that should be a priority for both developers and the city council.

Midtown One Step Closer to Medical Marijuana Dispensary

A company out of Irvine California called 'Medifarm' just closed escrow on the Scotland Yard Spy Shop building at 1085 South Virginia for $1.2 million. The Scotland Yard spy shop dude then bought the building across the street, 1092 South Virginia Street for half that price. Hopefully he is moving his spy shop over there. That's a cool shop.

Medifarm is associated medical marijuana dispensaries in California and looks to be opening up shop in Nevada in both Las Vegas and Reno.

I had heard a rumor before that a medical marijuana dispensary was looking to open in that building, looks like it's not a rumor anymore!

Midtown will be getting a medical dispensary soon.

Siegel Group, Downtown Transit, and Downtown Motels Take Center Stage

Siegel Group, Downtown Transit, and Downtown Motels Take Center Stage at RAAB Meeting.

Chocolate Bar is Out, The Stick is In

So the Chocolate Bar downtown is closed. Sad face. No more chocotinis.

But never fear, chocolate covered-yummies will soon be replaced by enthusiastic sports fans, as Reno is getting it's first non-smoking non-gaming, sports lounge known as The Stick. Steve Towell and Kevin Johnson (owner of the Chocolate Bar) are launching the concept.Being the first of it's kind, The Stick will be a premier sports themed restaurant and a perfect place for friends, family, and business patrons to meet for lunch, dinner, happy hour, game day, late night and community gatherings.

Stay tuned for more info, as I will be getting a tour soon! They hope to open in December/January.

City to Begin Work on VIrginia Lake Circulation Project

Construction of a new primary outlet structure and connecting pipeline at Virginia Lake is underway, and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The circulation project will be an important lake management change and is expected to improve water quality.

Biggest Little Theater Festival Begins This Week

The fourth annual BIGGEST little Theatre Festival at Brüka Theatre is a showcase for original theatre pieces featuring traditional and nontraditional performances created by local and regional performance artists.  This small festival features up to 5 performances a day over 5 days in our downtown Sub-Bruka space. Each performance is under 50 minutes in length.  Groups receive a portion of the ticket sales.