Nugget project selects California developer

A development company has been selected for the proposed Carson Nugget project, its organizers announced Wednesday.

P3 Development, based in Sacramento, was unanimously chosen by an eight-member selection committee last week to develop the estimated $80 million to $100 million project that could include a library, business incubator, retail and office space, loft housing and an entertainment venue.

But more work lies ahead before the specifics of the project begin to coalesce.

Mark Lewis, a consultant and former redevelopment director for the City of Reno working on the project, said letters were sent to local developers and others in the region. Ultimately two developers were interviewed: P3 Development and Gerding Edlen Development Company, LLC of Portland, Ore.

Rick Oshinski, CEO of P3 Development, said he was interested in the project because he's a former Carson City resident who worked as an attorney in Nevada's capital from 1990 to 2004 until going to work for P3 Development.

"I always felt when I was there that downtown needed something to keep and attract people," Oshinski said Wednesday.

He said he wants to develop a place for Carson City residents to gather downtown, but the size and scope of the project may change in the coming months, depending on interest from potential commercial and government tenants as well as the level of support the project ultimately gets from the city, such as a 1/8 cent increase in the sales tax.

Steve Neighbors, who oversees the Carson Nugget after he became the sole trustee of the Mae B. Adams Trust in December, said the Board of Supervisors was told of the decision to hire P3 Development last week.

"Everybody has been pressing for more details and all we've been doing is really big picture," Neighbors said. "Once we get the developer in place we can really start fine tuning that detail, but it will all stay in the premise we've presented before."

Lewis said it will be months before detailed answers to questions about financing and the design of the potential project can be answered.

P3 Development's track record includes government buildings, health care facilities, schools and the $64 million Stockton Events Center, which Lewis oversaw in 2005 while serving as Stockton's city manager.

P3's Oshinski said the goal is to break ground on the project this year, but not until an extensive review process by the city. He added local subcontractors will be used if the project moves forward.

He said some state government agencies have also expressed an interest to relocate their offices to a proposed 177,000 square feet of office space in the project. That would secure funding for the project, he said.

"It's going to be very difficult to get a lender to commit a substantial amount of money and construction funds; they're not going to build on (speculation)," he said. "To make it successful, if we can get public users to occupy the space once it's completed then we can get cheap financing."

Oshinski said his development company will work with longtime partner Piper Jaffray and Co., a Minneapolis-based investment firm.

Other partners include AC Martin Partners, an architecture firm based in Sacramento, and McCarthy Building Companies, a St. Louis-based general contractor.

The selection committee included Neighbors, Lewis, Carson Nugget General Manager Star Anderson, Carson City Library Director Sara Jones, Carson City Manager Larry Werner, Public Works Director Andrew R. Burnham, Carson City attorney Andrew MacKenzie, and David Morandi, a special counsel from the Carson City District Attorney's office.