17 Acre, One Billion Dollar Development Proposed for West Second Street

by Mike Van Houten / Apr 23, 2016

Within next week's staff report, there's a proposal to create a tax increment district for West Second Street called appropriately enough, the West Second Street District. 

The City of Reno has been approached by Secundo Vita, LLC regarding working with them on a large development project in downtown Reno comprised of approximately 17 acres with proposed residential, retail, office, hotel, and parking components with a total estimated project budget of $1.281 billion. The City of Reno has completed tax increment projections and financial standing and is recommending a presentation to the City Council to determine steps to proceed with development of a Disposition and Development Agreement as requested by the developer.

This presentation will be during next Wednesday's city council meeting. Below is a map of the properties in question, where the development would be going. 

The staff report here reads: 

"According to the developer, the West 2nd District is an urban development project proposal by the Don J. Clark Group, an architect-led redevelopment company from Reno, Nevada. Consisting of new residential, commercial, retail, and office space, as well as civil and technological infrastructure, the West 2nd project proposes urban infill and revitalization for a sector of the urban core specifically targeted for redevelopment. The West 2nd urban live-work concept aims to make the downtown area more livable, vibrant, and engaging for residents and visitors alike as Reno grows over the next ten years. The project links the expertise of a global P.4
business and knowledge network with local business, history, and context, energizing economic development for the region, and will invest redevelopment tax increment funds in community infrastructure and culture up front, supporting education, affordable housing services, public art, technology, and research.
Staff has completed tax increment projections based on early requests that future Tax Increment be committed to the project in the form of reimbursements for projects that would be pre-built such as infrastructure, art, and development. Consistent with past practice, the City hired, and the developer funded, Keyser Marston Associates (KMA) to prepare a projection of tax increment to be generated by the Project. The results of that analysis are included herein. Please note that the developer provided the conceptual development program and absorption schedule for the tax increment analysis. KMA makes no representation that the development will be constructed according to the program, absorption schedule, or budget provided. Actual revenues may be higher or lower than what has been projected.
In summary, given estimates that all obligations are satisfied by the development of only the West 2nd project as proposed, and assuming the construction schedule takes five additional years to complete, and assuming no additional growth in RDA #1, the Tax Increment generated is approximately $46 million.

The developer is requesting that staff begin negotiations on a Disposition and Development Agreement to be brought before Council which would likely include purchase or transfer of City property (alley/parking lot) and potential reimbursement of Tax Increment. "

The project concept breaks down as follows: 

- Residential (Primarily For-Sale)  - 2,353,329 SF or 1,800 – 2,000 units
- Retail - 245,240 SF
- Office - 447,363 SF
- Two Non-Gaming Hotels 245,000 SF totaling 490 keys
- Central Plant - 15,000 SF
---That totals 3,305,931 square feet of development. 
Then Parking - 2,015,744 SF or approx. 4,000 – 5,000 spaces
Circulation, Common Areas & Support 322,163 SF
 
Total - 5,484,038 SF
 
The proposed 235 Ralston Street condo project reported here, is the first project to go into this district. 
 

 

 
Apparently these folks have been buying up property in this area for nearly 6 years to make this happen. 
 
There's a 20+ page breakdown of the project, right down to approximate square footage per block of the project, and a whole boatload of numbers regarding tax increment financing. Unless I'm reading it wrong, it sounds like the city can afford to do this, if the tax increment district length for RDA 1 is increased. I am horrible with numbers, so I apologize in advance if I butchered that. Check it out! Let me know your thoughts. 
 
My first thought is....do they have the money to really pull this off? I learned after we got approximately 1/4 of the ful ballpark district we were supposed to get not to get too excited prematurely, but these are also two different kinds of financing. I believe the ballpark district was a combination of projected sales tax financing and TIFF, whereas this is based on property value, I believe? Come on hardcore enthusiasts, help me out here. :) 

 

Post your comments
  • April 23, 2016 - 7:59:32 PM

    Please build this!!! A project like this would completely transform that area and downtown. I do wonder about fininacing tho....but make this help.

  • April 23, 2016 - 8:36:06 PM

    Keep Reno Dirty!

  • April 23, 2016 - 8:47:22 PM

    FYI, for those interested in reading the staff report but not scrolling though the entire document, it starts on page 654 of the 744 page agenda. I guess we know what keeps Reno city staff busy all day- 700+ page agendas.

  • April 24, 2016 - 6:48:22 AM

    A billion dollars buys more than a couple of city blocks in a rundown downtown. The valuation of this project is preposterous.

  • April 24, 2016 - 8:03:38 AM

    Remember that post you did a while back of all the plans that never were during your tenure of creating this awesome website? I'd bet money you could add this, and that Rancharrah development of Plumb and Virginia to the list... In fact I just came up with a great new gambling scheme the casinos could use. A "will-it-be-built?" Sportsbook. It doesn't mean I don't want it to be built, it just means I don't get starry eyed so easily.

  • April 24, 2016 - 8:17:57 AM

    Walter H... I believe the term development refers to construction as well and if they build everything listed then yes, over a billion dollars looks about right. Carry on.

  • April 24, 2016 - 9:29:32 AM

    Any idea if adaptive reuse of existing buildings is part of this plan? There are some pretty iconic structures in this area. I am curious to know what will be demolished and what will be reused.

  • April 24, 2016 - 9:39:04 AM

    H.E. .....I think unfortunately you may be right with your comment. I hope this project gets done, but it could be a long shot 😕. Reno needs this though! More upscale living, dining, and office space is vital to make Reno better.

  • April 25, 2016 - 10:53:57 AM

    This looks fantastic! Would be huge for downtown. Need to focus more on rebuilding parts of downtown and slowing down the ugly sprawl of the valleys. Really interested to hear more after Wednesday

  • April 26, 2016 - 9:42:56 PM

    Never gonna happen. Why do these developers taunt us with these over the top ideas and then totally let us down? How about taking it step-by-step and accomplishing baby step projects will ultimately make downtown better. Why do they always bite off more then they can chew. Real redevelopment will take time. I'm so sick of these new projects being floated that never come to fruition. It's almost like they just come up with these ideas to get our hopes up and then dash them when they can't secure the funding. Stop giving us false hope!

  • April 27, 2016 - 9:09:57 PM

    As a community we should embrace bold ideas to infuse new development in our downtown. The urban core realized terrific residential construction pre market drop and the time is ripe to introduce more mid rise residential and mixed uses to expand commercial and office offerings in an area that has been ignored if not blighted for years. I suggest we applaud the bravery and energy expended by the development team to bring this concept to us. Let's do all we can to help the project gain momentum because the entire Truckee Meadows benefits from new construction focused downtown--all scales welcome.

  • April 30, 2016 - 7:13:27 PM

    If these guys are such red hot visionary developers why all the IRS leans against their business (search Washoe Recorder for Cathexes) and why all their confusion on how many essential properties for this project they actually own (Washoe Recorder again)? This is not giving a good first impression of someone who is proposing a billion dollar project without identifying their source of financing and wants $100M from the city.

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