Downtown Reno condo craze

Is there room at the inn for another downtown condo? L-3 Development LLC, the Chicago-based developer that submitted plans to the Reno Planning Commission last week to convert the Golden Phoenix Hotel and Casino into 388 condominiums, thinks the answer is yes.

And its name is The Montage.

The condo proposal follows along the lines of other recent downtown conversions, including ground-floor commercial space along with the condos, as well as pool and spa amenities.

L-3 Development comes with a packet of Midwest credentials.

It's managed major condominium conversions in Illinois, and made a name for itself in conversions of historic and vintage buildings.

In 2003, for instance, it began a rehab and conversion of Chicago's historic Ambassador West Hotel into 38 condos.And it was recently named as one of the firms making a play for conversion of the Doctors Hospital, a three-acre, Chicago site.

Its exploration of the Golden Phoenix has taken it far west of its usual stomping grounds.

And it's bringing an East Coast flair with it, proposing a brownstone design three-story townhouses at street level.Average size for the condos is 2,704 square feet.

Further fa ade enhancements for the building and hotel tower reflect the Victorian tones of the brown stones.

The 604-room Golden Phoenix Hotel and Casino is owned by RFC Reno, LLC, a subsidiary of Vista Hospitality Group, a firm based in New York,with offices in Canada as well.

RFC Reno purchased the former Hilton Flamingo Reno hotel building in 2001, for a reported $6.75 million.After closing the hotel and giving it a multi-million-dollar overhaul, it reopened it in April 2002 as the Golden Phoenix.

The Golden Phoenix is the Vista Hospitality Group's only Western property.

The company's focus has been in Florida,New York and the eastern provinces of Canada.

The firm manages hotel and commercial real estate, as well as owning and leasing properties.

Amin Visram, chief executive officer of Vista Hospitality, declined to say whether his company is contemplating a partnership with L-3 Development or a sale.

If L-3 Development's goes through with a condo conversion of the Golden Phoenix, it joins several other condo projects already under way.

The 125-unit Residences at Riverwalk (the old Comstock) is in the final stages of construction work and is almost sold out.

It released its final 18 available units last week.

Other new and upcoming condos downtown include the 90-unit Palladio, the 380- unit Belvedere Towers (the old Sundowner) conversion, the recently announced 153-unit towers at Lake and Second Streets, the 51-unit Chambolle, the 59-unit Sierra Vista Towers, and the 200-room Speakeasy Hotel.

When is it enough? "In downtown we only had two condo buildings for many,many years," says Kristin Danielson, Reno Redevelopment Agency economic development manager."With some of the new property announcements you see the built-up demand.And, it's the beginning."

The beginning of a downtown revival echoes what's happening in other downtowns across the nation people seeking urban living.

The condos being proposed or offer a range of choices across almost all economic levels.

Up next for downtown: "We may have more people working downtown,more offices, more retail to serve the residents of the area," says Danielson.

And, indeed, almost all of the condo conversions include retail and other commercial spaces in their mixed-use plans.