City adds redevelopment district in S. Carson

In an effort to retain auto dealerships within city limits, the Carson City Redevelopment Authority approved a new project on South Carson Street designed to bolster car sales.

The new redevelopment, approved Thursday, encompasses 84 parcels covering 133 acres along both sides of South Carson Street, including eight car dealerships.

It is a smaller area than the downtown redevelopment with a high concentration of the city's sales tax revenue.

"Auto sales are a significant contributor the city's sales tax," said Carson City Redevelopment Manager Joe McCarthy. "We've targeted this district to retain auto dealers and to stimulate investment in that area."

Car sales account for 25 percent of the city's sales tax, which makes up 40 percent of the city's budget.

The city's plans for an Auto Mall are on hold. The city has not secured a location for the proposed project, McCarthy said, but improvements in the redevelopment area will help to retain the interest of auto dealership owners in Carson City.

The Redevelopment Authority can assist auto dealers with marketing Carson City as a desirable place to buy cars, he said, by establishing a "dealer group" to conduct destination advertising and special events.

The project was formulated after the Carson City Board of Supervisors/Redevelopment Authority directed city staff last February to work on a plan to strengthen the city's auto sales sector.

The South Carson Street Redevelopment Plan is separate from current downtown redevelopment.

In a Redevelopment District, assessed property values in an area are frozen. As property values rise, tax revenues on the difference are used for improvements and incentives are used for improvements within the area or as incentive money for property owners to make improvements.

Incentives have to be paid back to the city if property owners sell their businesses within seven years.

After seven years, incentives do not have to be paid back.

The Redevelopment Authority is separate from local government, but is also directed by the city's supervisors.

Contact Robyn Moormeister at rmoormeister@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.