Rendering by Frame Architecture of a proposed city hall building and parking garage along East Musser and North Stewart streets in downtown Carson City.
During their retreat Friday, the Carson City Board of Supervisors will consider city facility needs and an estimated $250 million proposal for downtown revitalization led by the Hop and Mae Adams Foundation. The proposal includes a new city hall at East Musser and North Stewart streets, according to design documents provided for the meeting.
The retreat starts 9 a.m. Friday in the Fuji Park Exhibit Hall, 601 Old Clear Creek Road.
According to an executive summary from HMAF, the proposed revitalization project would include a conference center, two “higher-end” hotels, housing, a plaza, a new city hall and parking garage.
“Overall, this $250 million property improvement is expected to have a significant impact on the local area economy by $700 million with half that in Carson City over the next five years,” reads the summary. “It will create an estimated 1,500 jobs. It will create tax revenue of approximately $2 million annually to Carson City and its school district.”
The development would be divided in phases, according to the proposal from HMAF.
“For the first and second phase, the community part of the development, HMAF proposes establishing a non-profit entity, Carson City Development Corp. (CCDC), to create a land partnership with Carson City and the state of Nevada (the partners),” the executive summary says.
HMAF contends the proposal meets the city’s current master plan update and recommendations for public-private partnerships. Only portions of the revitalization effort like city hall and related parking would entail public money from Carson.
“It is evident that the unsightly parking lots in the core of downtown require significant attention,” reads the summary. “The city's involvement is limited to a triple net lease payment for a 60,000 square foot city hall with 300 garage stalls. The lease rate would be based on finance costs only, for a ten-year lease with options thereafter.
“If the city completes the lease term for the entire debt payoff period, the city will own the city hall. The lease would be approximately $2.1 million a year for the 60,000 square feet of city hall and 300 car stalls in a parking garage. The fourth floor could be subleased for an annual estimated $400,000 with garage parking, thus dropping the net lease cost to the city of an estimated $1.7 million a year.”
However, city officials said Wednesday forthcoming late material for the meeting would show the city’s own financing projections regarding the project.
More about HMAF and the financing structure of the proposal is online: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/3147761/Town_Square_City_Hall_Proposal_Final.pdf.
The HMAF proposal, as presented, shows a new city hall (with four floors) costing an estimated $27.5 million and the parking garage costing $15 million in phase 1, “with only $36 million financed based on land contributions from the partners, CCDC, and HMAF.”
It shows the conference center costing an estimated $11 million and the plaza at $10 million in phase 2, with needed financing at $14 million. However, the proposal says the conference center could be part of a hotel and thus privately owned.
The plan also outlines $200 million in private investment in phases 2 and 3 ranging from hotels and housing to “several restaurants, pubs and retail.”
According to the proposal, HMAF would like a memorandum of understanding from the city “for HMAF to go forward, working with the state to gain a partnership agreement between HMAF, the city, and the state.”
Following the facilities agenda item including the HMAF proposal, supervisors will consider the city’s five-year capital improvement plan.