Speaking of...

When the Speakeasy sign comes down which will be soon the old, downtown Reno hotel will leave its casino roots behind.

And, in what's beginning to sound like a repeating refrain as downtown Reno reinvents itself, the Speakeasy will become the Reno Regency, an apartment building.

Renovation is set to begin immediately.

And first to change, says new owner, Kamran Farhadi, will be the Speakeasy sign.He's eager to see it come down.

Farhadi, a developer from Beverly Hills, Calif., is one of the principals in the Reno Regency LLC, as well as in Kampar Corp., the California firm that is at the center of several development projects.

The Speakeasy at 200 E.

Sixth St., currently has 224 hotel rooms, says Kurt Mattingly, comanager of the facility.

They book for $49 to $69 on weekdays and $79-$119 on weekends, with some priced differently for extended stay.

The hotel also has banquet facilities.

But it's slid into near-seediness over the last few years, dwindling from its once hopeful beginnings as a downtown casino into a cheap alternative to the area's more elegant hotels.

In its new incarnation, the Reno Regency will be in line with what the city has in mind for the future of that area, says Farhadi.

The rehab is in tune with the university's master plan, as well as the city's, adds Kristin Danielson, Reno Redevelopment Agency economic development manager.

The cooperative planning effort between city and university envisions connecting the university to downtown via pedestrian walkways and in-fill development along Evans Avenue, adds Danielson.

And the plans for the Speakeasy just one block west of Evans fit well within that connecting piece.

And new customers and residents for the Reno Regency? Students, says Farhadi.

The owners are targeting the University of Nevada, Reno, graduate student population.

The building has several long-term senior citizen residents, adds Farhadi, and that market segment is expected to maintain interest.

But the units, which range from 350 square feet to 700 square feet, might also appeal to UNR students seeking affordable housing within bike-riding and walking distance of classrooms.

Other possible tenants targeted by the new owners include downtown, St.Mary's Hospital, and Washoe County employees.And there's also extended stay for businesspeople, says Mattingly.

All is in the early planning and ruminating stages at the moment.

Mattingly says the apartments are expected to fetch $399 to $888 monthly rents.

And, unlike hotel policy where a credit card gains a room for the night rules that govern apartment rentals allow the owners to require applications, credit checks, and the like to screen future residents.

That and a six-month-minimum lease forms the basis of the group's resident turnover strategy.

The property wasn't making it as a hotel, says Architect Jeff Frame of Rose Frame Romero Architects, the firm taking on the redesign of the Speakeasy.

Indeed, MTR Gaming Group, Inc.

reported a $1.4 million loss on the property for the year 2002, before selling it in early 2003 for upwards of $2.9 million.

It had closed the Speakeasy's gaming operations in July, 2001, leaving the property to operate as a hotel and banquet facility.

Under new ownership, the banquet facilities still operated, says Mattingly, serving as a venue for weddings and small business meetings, but also for rave parties all-night dance events that typically attract a young culture.

The venue will change with a new design, says Frame.He envisions the facelift bringing a new lightening and brightening to the building.

The exterior first floors will be brought down to pedestrian scale,with storefront windows replacing the building's current blank walls.At street-level, too, the Reno Regency will be home to retail and commercial businesses facing both 6th Street and Lake Avenue.

Gone will be the dark, casino interiors and blank outer walls.

Look for a redo of the parking, landscaping, and an upgrade of the entire outside, says Frame.

Upstairs, renovation is planned on a floorby- floor strategy.

Current residents and those who have booked the hotel well into the Hot August Nights season,will be accommodated as the floors go through their facelifts.

It'll be out with the casino motif and in with residential urban, says Frame.

Rooms will be stripped down, re-floored, refurnished, and rehabbed as studio or one-bedroom apartments with kitchenettes.

They'll tackle the basement, too,morphing it from its present warren of offices and rooms into an activity center for apartment residents, with exercise room, recreation, and community room areas.

The group plans to have the building under way as soon as permits are issued, and, says Mattingly, the reorganization will probably stretch over a year.

Plans are to rehab the building a few floors at a time and to convert to apartments, while also honoring already booked hotel reservations, and giving extended stay residents the option of signing rental leases.

Escrow on the building closed in mid- March, for an undisclosed price.

The building has changed hands a couple of times in recent years.

Farhadi purchased it from private owners Martin and Kristi Giudici, Reno business owners and investors.