City to lease building for resource center

Carson City moved one step closer Thursday to consolidating a number of city services aimed at improving customer service for the business community.

The Board of Supervisors approved an agreement with Fireside Investments to lease with an option to buy the Fireside building, 108 E. Proctor St., next door to City Hall.

The Carson City Business Resource Center will include planning, building, business license, development engineering and business development departments of the city. It also is ideal due to its proximity to City Hall, where customers can easily access the Treasurer's and Assessor's offices, and to the Secretary of State's office, according to a report by Office of Business Development Director Joe McCarthy and Public Works Director Andy Burnham.

Its library satellite function will focus specifically on business research. This will incorporate business support, instruction and coaching provided by the University of Nevada's small business development center.

The Carson City Business Resource Center will coordinate partnerships with the Builder's Association of Western Nevada, the Carson City Chamber of Commerce, Northern Nevada Develop-ment Authority and workforce development agencies.

"The center's primary mission is business retention, job creation, filling empty buildings and diversifying our local economy," McCarthy said.

Several alternative sites were studied, but the Fireside building was selected for having enough space, its location and for being move-in ready, Burnham said.

In addition to the former Citibank building on Curry Street, which needed a complete renovation, the city looked at a number of other sites.

The former Greater Nevada Credit Union building on Second Street was too small and not within the Redevelopment District, the former Gottschalks in the Carson Mall would have required an extensive remodel, and the former Kmart was too far from the city center and would have required extensive remodeling.

The lease on the new building will be $1.05 per square foot for 8,408 square feet of usable space and 25 cents per square foot for the storage-only basement.

The city has a two-year window, beginning in 12 months, to exercise its option to buy.