CITY DWELLERS LONG HAVE KNOWN the special energy that comes from living in the heart of a city and feeling a part of the action with restaurants, shopping, theaters and other entertainment venues just outside your door. Thanks to the efforts of the city, county and dedicated individuals, Reno is finally adding a booming and diverse residential population with a vital business community to its downtown.

DOWNTOWN RESIDENTIAL BOOM
“The opportunities here and what is going to happen to this city in the next 10 years is very exciting,” says Fernando Leal, owner of L3, the developer of the downtown Montage project. The Montage will be an upscale condominium project on the site of what was the Golden Phoenix casino. “This is going to be a very dynamic neighborhood.” Living spaces from “row” houses to terraced homes with garden areas to two-story penthouse dwellings will range from the mid-$200,000 to well over $2 million. “We have 14 penthouses and 80 people on a waiting list for them,” Leal says. “We will have a huge amount of retail space, primarily restaurants, at street level, and we over 600 parking spots available.” Roberta Ross, president of the Downtown Reno Improvement Association and owner of Ross Manor apartments, is excited about the new feel of downtown. “The redevelopment and changes, particularly in the last eight months, have brought a comfort zone to being downtown,” Ross says. “Now it’s cool for people to live

Lynda and Tom Case stand on the balcony of their 14th-floor condominium in the Residences at Riverwalk Towers in downtown Reno. They were among the first residents to move into the building, which was formerly the Comstock Hotel. downtown, with its improved lighting and safer streets.” Ross says she’s particularly happy about the quality of building going on — the Palladio, a 12-story mixed-used complex at First and Sierra, and the Riverwalk, formerly the Comstock Hotel — are examples.

“Just to see the cranes up brings a vitality to downtown,” Ross says.

IMPROVEMENTS EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS
Pete Sferrazza, County Commissioner for downtown’s District 3, was mayor when the first of the improvements began.

“It hasn’t been overnight, but first was the Wingfield Park Amphitheater, then the River Walk Parking Gallery and after that the movie theater was built,” Sferrazza says, who cites other changes and improvements that include a focus on the Truckee River, the creation of an Arts district, the development of a Whitewater Park and construction of a new City Hall, County Courthouse and Downtown Events Center.

“The city started it, but the county contributed in part by staying downtown and investing in the courthouse project,” Sferrazza says. “A lot of the focus of improving downtown started with the government, but the private sector followed when they realized that downtown Reno is a very attractive place to invest in.”

YEAR-ROUND ARTS SCENE
The downtown arts scene has come a long way from the opening of the Sierra Arts building and the Riverside Artist Lofts five years ago, says Jill Berryman, executive director of the foundation. “It’s so much cleaner, there are a lot more people coming down to see what this area is all about and the arts area has really become city-user friendly and an all-year destination,” she says. A few of downtown’s arts and culture attractions include the Nevada Museum of Art, various live theaters and art galleries, interesting restaurants and coffee houses, ice skating in the winter and Artown, a month-long summer arts festival.

“It used to be that the river was almost a psychological barrier — on the north side were the casinos and on the south side, businesses,” Berryman says. “The Arts District has created a psychological bridge where we can go on both sides now.”