Silverstar readies housing, retail at Mark Twain

Take a strip of dilapidated gray buildings that's been unoccupied, empty and deteriorating for two decades at 2201 S.Virginia Street.

Add the acreage around it that spreads up to Virginia Lake.

And you have a spectacular infill opportunity, says William F.

Miller, president of Silverstar Communities, a West Coast developer that's made a name for itself in Reno with properties in areas such as Montreux, Arrowcreek, Caughlin Ranch and Somersett.

Silverstar is making the most of its latest opportunity, designing a mixed-use development of 105,000 square feet of commercial space fronting on S.Virginia and 220 homes oriented toward Virginia Lake.

The property, the old Mark Twain motel grounds, is an odd-shaped piece of land.

The portion fronting on Virginia Street joins a longer stretch of land fronting the lake.

The two sections will be developed separately, says Miller,with pedestrian access and green belts only no roads running between them.

And that's just what the neighbors wanted.

The Country Club Acres Neighborhood Plan, drafted by residents of the Virginia Lake area, spelled out their desires for the old Mark Twain motel property.

They wanted a pedestrian-oriented design, balconies, porches, and low fences.

They wanted mixed use development, parking lots that do not adjoin Lymberry Drive, and also did not want traffic coming in off South Virginia.

They got it all, says Miller, thumbing through a highlighted copy of the plan.

And more.

Miller, a long-time residential developer, is excited about this project.Usually the design is more stimulating than the implementation of a development, but on this one, he says, "We're all anxious to see the finished product." The pictures are really pretty.

Designed in cooperation with Cathexes Architecture of Reno, the residential sections show a decidedly San Francisco flair a takeoff of Silverstar's Brighton Manor "old Reno" residential development at Moana and Plumb, which is also in the approval stages.

Named Virginia Lakes Crossing, the new development includes upwards of 80 singlefamily houses two-story and three-story expected to sell for between $340,000 and $420,000.Up the road from them is a second subdivision of about 140 units in a three-story row house design,with three to seven units in a row, expected to sell for $250,000 to $310,000.

A single point of entry off Lymberry Drive provides "a dynamic sense of arrival," says Miller.

The entry road looks down a greenbelt that ends in trees and greenery.

On the commercial side, a 250-foot boulevard entry off South Virginia leads up to a landscaped rounder."The landscaping here should be majestic as you look in," says Miller.

Retail, restaurant, and office spaces fall in the range of 8,000 to 20,000 square feet.

"Boutique retail," says Miller.

Silverstar has noticed this property for years, adds Miller, and began serious study of it about eight months ago.

But why this one? It's a nice, big, flat property, he says, with just a few challenges, such as asbestos on interior walls of the motel and old fuel tanks that have to be removed.

But really, it's the lake, says Miller."And the layout, the infill side of it, and the mature contiguous neighborhood."All played a role in Silverstar's decision to build.

Good infill property is scarce in Reno, and Miller predicts a demand for city living among empty nesters, singles, and young families.

They won't have long to wait.

Silverstar begins rehab of the site in early April, and will build both the commercial and residential segments to market demand building new units as units sell.

Virginia Lake Crossing is a big step for redevelopment of the area, says Miller.

It plays into the city's plans, including a bus turn lane to encourage mass transit travel along South Virginia.