State demolishing old armory

The old National Guard armory in South Carson City will be demolished to make way for a new state project on a site Carson City has tried to buy for commercial development.

Demolition of the buildings will begin by October, said Nevada Public Works Board Deputy Manager Even Dale. The work will have to be done in two stages because the agency didn't get all of the $1 million it needs at the 2007 legislative session.

Dale said demolition will be finished sometime in 2009.

The site, which the National Guard started building on about 50 years ago, has been mostly vacant since the agency moved out in 2002.

However, a few state agencies are looking at the 11.5-acre site at the corner of Carson and Colorado streets, said Nevada Division of State Lands Administrator Pam Wilcox.

She announced about two years ago that the state would not sell the land to Carson City, which asked to buy the property in October 2005.

"The decision has been made," she said in an interview last week.

The land, near several auto dealerships, could be used for a dealership or other commercial development such as a small shopping center, city officials have said.

Mayor Marv Teixeira said the sale is in the best interest of both the city and the state.

"Why would the state want to hold onto a piece of property when it's prime commercial land?" he said. "I would hope they would be flexible enough to let us market that property."

The state could be motivated by its fiscal problems to sell the land, Teixeira said.

Joe McCarthy, city economic development manager, said the city has continued to tell the state that it would like to buy the property if it is willing to sell it.

While the city has had "nothing but positive conversations" with the state about buying the land, new state offices would also be good for the city because they would bring jobs, said McCarthy.

The property could cost the city around $6 million to $7 million, but the market is "turbulent" and the land could be sold for a lower price, McCarthy said.

The National Guard started work on the land in 1959 and constructed the main building in 1975, according to Erick Studenicka, a Guard representative. The new armory is at the corner of Fairview and Edmonds drives.

• Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.