A powerful tool

Carson City leaders believe redevelopment will be a key to the city's future.

Some believe the downtown is becoming the first success story and a model for other efforts in the city.

The redevelopment authority will unveil design concepts for downtown in June when it hosts a viewing of the three-dimensional video that illustrates what residents have said they want Carson Street to look like. Showings are scheduled for 6 p.m. on June 7 and 8 in the grand ballroom of the Brewery Arts Center.

Carson City formed its 488-acre downtown redevelopment district in 1986, and has allocated at least $1 million to various projects, including upgrading signs outside the Nevada State Museum, co-sponsoring the annual Kit Carson Ghost Walk and making sidewalk improvements outside the Capitol.

Downtown has been the site of more than 40 such projects, big and small, over the years, said Joe McCarthy, economic development and redevelopment manager for the city.

Most recently, the city's Redevelopment Authority stepped in to help with the effort to preserve the historic First Presbyterian Church. At 110 N. Nevada St., it is within the downtown redevelopment district. The authority is helping to create a fundraising corporation to pay for restoration of the building.

The South Carson Street redevelopment area was established in 2004. Its aim was to help generate more sales tax revenues by improving the city's car sales. These businesses comprise more than 30 percent of the city's total taxable sales revenue.

A proposed addition will include roughly 440 acres and 171 parcels circling around the original area. The first portion consists of 84 parcels and 144 acres. Its focus is on the various older commercial buildings that sit unoccupied, such as the old Wal-Mart building.

Up to $1 million could be garnered within the first decade of the new district's existence, McCarthy said.

Future sites targeted for redevelopment might include the Highway 50 business area, and an extension of the downtown district to the north just beyond the Northgate Shopping Center, he said.

These future plans won't be acted on until "we show that the South Carson redevelopment district is working as intended," he added.

• Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.