Carson City, Horseshoe Club makeovers discussed

An ambitious timeline for downtown Carson Street’s makeover was discussed Thursday, and news of an overhaul of the Horeshoe Club into buildings for commercial tenants came at the same meeting.

Both captured the attention of about 50 people who showed up for a “get to know your contractor” mixer at the Brewery Arts Center, which was put on by Q&D Construction, Inc., Lumos & Associates and the Carson City Public Works Department. Will Morgan, Q&D project manager, said a target calls for starting underground utility work in late February or early March. Sidewalk and street work would follow later.

“We’re not going to be choking off both sides of the street,” said Morgan, explaining a lane of traffic on Carson Street would remain open both ways throughout. He said work would be done in stages to widen sidewalks, put in bike lanes, do landscaping and narrow the roadway to three lanes, with one each north and south and a middle turn lane.

He said the plan is the work would “hopscotch back and forth” and the contractor would “just leapfrog as we go” from north to south so the street never is closed. Mike Bennett of Lumos, project designer, said if wintry weather causes problems the weathter-dependent work would be done in the summer. But the project will finish on schedule by the end of October, he pledged with a joke.

“If we’re not done by Nevada Day (2016), we’re all leaving town,” he said. The project runs from William Street on the north to 5th Street at the south end.

Bennett and Morgan also said the McFadden Plaza planned on a closed West 3rd Street would probably start in June and be done quickly. Bennett said Carson Street work would cost more than $8 million, the plaza less than $1 million.

The Horseshoe Club makeover was discussed after Danny Rotter, the city’s engineering project manager, showed up late after spending time elsewhere at a Historic Resources Commission meeting. He mentioned it as part of the prospects for new downtown tenants while answering a question from one man in the crowd. As he talked about it, he noticed nearby in the crowd was Jeanette Kelley of the Horseshoe Club.

After the session, people clustered around her as she talked about her plans to restore the club to three buildings, rather than one complex, in hopes of luring a restaurant, retailing and upper floor offices or apartments. She said the location is at the heart of the downtown makeover project. She said she’s now sole owner of the club structures, which are at the northwest corner of North Carson and West Telegraph streets. The club had been a family casino.

The family closed the casino months ago, and she said the Horseshoe Club sign came down Thursday.

She said she has been working for some time to ready the insides for potential tenants. She said John Copolous, local architect, had done renderings of how the three buildings could look after restoration to their former separated status. She said there used to be six addresses there, from 402-412 N. Carson St.

Kelley said overall there’s 15,300 square feet of space, which can be configured in various ways for tenants. She said currently there are 10 offices and five housing units on the upper floors with ample retail space below.