$91 million to build a ballpark in downtown Reno? What the heck were they thinking?
This post by Fred Steinmann
Well, everyone’s talking about the latest-greatest “big deal” for downtown Reno. So I figured I’d kick in my two cents. The City of Reno, the Reno Redevelopment Agency, SK Baseball and Nevada Land eeked out a tight October 1st deadline to complete one of the more complicated deals the City has seen in a long time to bring the Tucson Sidewinders (hopefully a new name is pending) Triple A baseball team of the Pacific Coast League to downtown Reno. Expect a ground breaking sometime later this year.
This deal goes to show you just how difficult it is to do development and redevelopment in a built-out downtown urban environment. It took four public entities – the City of Reno, the Reno Redevelopment Agency, Washoe County and the State of Nevada – and at least four public entities – SK Baseball, Nevada Land, Siena Communities and even the Men’s Club – to put this deal together. And this doesn’t count all the private consultants. Oh yeah, it will likely also require the support of the Reno Transportation Committee (RTC), the Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority (RSCVA) and other private property owners to further complete the “little” details that apparently still need to be worked out.
And to make matters even more complicated, the Reno Redevelopment Agency has not had a lot of “extra money” lying around as the Agency’s revenue from incremental property tax revenues from the downtown redevelopment district have declined by nearly 50% since 2001. And oh yeah, the deal involved the preservation of a historic structure – the Freight House. Combined with these obstacles, numerous parcels owned by the City, the Agency and Siena Communities along with several other individual property owners added to the deals complexity.
Deal-Killing Points
We could go back and forth and debate for ever on whether or not the Agency and the City gave away too much or not enough but we can learn one thing from this deal. Complexity is always expected in downtown redevelopment efforts. Remember Chambolle? Here’s a list of the “complexities” that led to the “quick and quiet death” of that 10-storey condo complex that was planned for the vacant lot next to the Riverside Artist Lofts:
- Prelim site analysis found old “wing walls” underground supporting the adjacent Riverwalk. Changing the Chambolle’s foundation to accommodate those wing walls would’ve added nearly $10 million to the project cost.
- Residents at the Riverwalk with westerly views of the Sierra Mountains weren’t too happy about losing their view and forced several changes to the project’s designed. Result – more costs!
- The City and the Agency wanted more brick in the final exterior. Result – more costs!
- Construction costs – namely for cement and steel – jumped considerably from the time the project was first proposed to the time earlier this year when the developer finally called it quits.
So remember, when developers try to do “big deals” in downtowns – be it Reno, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston or New York – keep in mind that it isn’t cheap! More than likely, the project’s cost will rise dramatically and there is always difficulty in dealing with the complexity and unknowns of doing development in the urban environment. $91 million for a ballpark in downtown Reno? That’s cheap relative to what it could cost. Anyone remember the “Big Dig” in Boston? The underground freeway project that had an original price tag of just $4 billion? Well, that project ended up costing nearly $14.6 billion.
A very insightful article by Fred Steinman, who gracefully delivers the facts, despite how confusing it is. He breaks it down and explains the challenges of large scale development within the downtown Reno area. Well done Fred and kudos. Even locals get confused on how things get done, and your article explains some of the obstacles that stand in the way for Reno development.