Bypass catalyst for Carson downtown revitalization effort

Walkable cities.

Pedestrian malls.

The words are on the lips of every city planner.

A downtown destination venue where well-heeled tourists step from pricey hotel rooms to stroll amidst boutiques and eateries.

That's the hope.

"Hopes for downtown are beyond hopes now," says Joe McCarthy, economic development and redevelopment manager for Carson City."The goal is to make it the most beautiful state capitol in the West." In 1992, Carson City's downtown had 29 shuttered buildings.

Now, McCarthy says,"We are filling the last two buildings: the Ormsby House and the old Lucky Spur, reopening as Stew's, a restaurant and brew pub." The Highway 395 bypass is the catalyst driving change.

By late 2006 the Highway 395 bypass will reach Highway 50, and will get to Fairview Drive by 2008,McCarthy says.

Fairview will be widened to five lanes, and exit near the railroad museum.

"That will change everything, rerouting through traffic away from downtown," he says.

The downtown district is bounded on the east by Roop Street, on the west by Nevada Street, on the south by Stewart Street and on the north by John Street, one block north of Highway 50.

"Several disparate nodes are in downtown Carson City," McCarthy says, citing areas around Adele's, the museums and the Ormsby House."We need to link those districts into a single comprehensive district,widening sidewalks, skinnying streets.We're going through a long overdue renaissance of downtown.

We have to rethink how people use the streets; use that extra space to widen the sidewalks; add cafes and outdoor dining.Make it to human scale."

McCarthy points to Telegraph Square across the street from the Legislature as an example of the hoped-for finished look.He points out the old Sweetland Building, adjacent to Java Joe's, as a lovely example of an older building, rehabilitated.

It now houses the Basil restaurant.

A block west of Carson Street, on Curry Street, a cluster of boutiques hang shingles to tout such items as soaps, teas, antiques, art, vintage clothing and costumes, beads, eateries and pubs.

Challenging the vision is the financial costs of construction.

"Denver did a project along a racetrack street like Carson Street; it cost in the $5 million to $10 million range," says McCarthy.

To pay for it, he envisions a partnership with the Carson City Redevelopment Authority and other funding sources at the state and federal level, plus philanthropic organizations.

"Carson City will do it incrementally, block by block, adding street work and safe lighting as funds allow," he says.

Hannafin/Darney Architects LLP will work with the city on the revitalization efforts, says Art Hannafin,managing partner.Active in redevelopment for 20 years,Hannafin served on the Carson City Redevelopment Authority from the time it was formed.Hannafin's vision is for a historic commercial downtown, saying his firm has prepared some broad plans that show the general flow of downtown design, but the time is not yet right for designing the detailed look of signage, lighting and landscaping.

How to publicize the changing downtown landscape? The city is working to facilitate the development of a downtown merchants association, says McCarthy.

In the meantime, the city puts on events such as the Ghost Walk and the Wild West Tour, says Kevin Ray, special events manager at the Redevelopment Authority, plus the summer concert series.

The city helps to underwrite privately sponsored events such as Taste of Downtown.

But planners want visitors to stay even longer.

"With the bypass,we need to create the opportunity to come downtown and stay the night, says Hannafin."We need to make it a walking adventure.You're not going to compete with the big box shopping centers.We must make it more fun."

To stay the night, tourists need rooms.

Two historic hotels are undergoing renovation.

The Ormsby House with about 130 rooms remodeling began several years ago, but no target completion date is known, says Robin Zakzeski, operations manager.

The hotel is owned by Cubix Ormsby LLC,with interior design work being done by partners Don Lehr and Al Fieghen."It is a labor of love," says Zakzeski.

The hotel is a capstone of the downtown revitalization effort, says Zakzeski, because it's in a key location near the State Capitol.

Along with widened sidewalks, the hotel's plans call for outdoor seating and a design to fit into the downtown theme.

The old St.

Charles Hotel, renamed St.

Charles Executive Suites, is being remodeled by owners Mark and Jenny Lopiccolo, who purchased the property in October, says property manager Cheryl Evans, director of property management for Coldwell Banker Best Sellers of Carson City.

"We are remodeling all of the rooms completely each time someone vacates," says Evans.

Rooms are rented weekly,with some residents having lived there five years.

Ideally, with a changing tenant base, the 26 rooms will become home to working people who want to live downtown, she says.

In the St.

Charles lobby, the DeVincenzi Italian restaurant fronts the street.

Clientele is about 10 percent tourists, says Lisa Miller,who with husband Rick, leases space for the restaurant.

That doubles to 20 percent in the summer.

"We feel the downtown revitalization can only help us," she says.

The city has contracted with two planning firms, Clarion Associates of Denver, and Winston Associates of Boulder, Colo.

"The freeway will sort out people coming downtown from those just passing though," says JeffWinston, president ofWinston Associates.

"Merchants think visibility to cars helps business, but people don't spend money in their cars; only when walking."

He noted that malls are designed with anchor stores, plus many small shops pedestrians must pass en route to the next anchor.

"In downtown pedestrian areas, the most effective anchors are

restaurants.

They are effective magnets," says Winston.

Chains with large stores in malls, such as The Gap and Banana Republic, have created smaller versions that tuck neatly into downtown pedestrian areas.

"However," he says,"we find that local stores, not chains, are the most effective."

Winston says public improvements planting trees, laying sidewalks will encourage private owners to improve their properties.

Darci White, an associate planner at Clarion Associates, says Carson City's downtown has some unusual advantages.

"Carson City is different from other Western cities in that a lot of public land surrounds the community," says White.

"Other cities have unchecked growth happening at the edge and grapple with how to control their boundaries, but Carson City has a natural boundary."