Timeless design from hotel translated into townhouses

A timeless design will be transferred to a townhouse project on the banks of the Truckee River, says Bill Miller, president of SilverStar Communities.

Classic examples of timelessness, says Miller, are the pyramids in Egypt or the Sistine Chapel in Italy.

"What makes them timeless is that it doesn't appear when they were being built that there was any budget," he says.

Reno's Grant's Landing, with 131 units set on 5.5 acres just east of the National Automobile Museum, is inspired by the timeless design of The US Grant, a San Diego hotel built at the turn of the century by the son of Civil War general Ulysses S. Grant.

"The detailing of The US Grant is spectacular," says Miller, pointing to the cornice detail on top of the rooms. That kind of architectural articulation, he says, is carried over to Grant's Landing in the detail of windows and awnings. And in the quoining, an architectural detail giving the appearance of stacked stone.

Architect McKinley and Associates of San Diego designed Grant's Landing. Miller had worked with McKinley on other projects for 25 years. While a resident of San Diego, Miller had attended functions at the grand old hotel and has memories of its "wonderful restaurant, Grant's Grill."

While Grant's Landing is private residence, not public lodging, it will boast some public amenities most notably, the public walking path along the Truckee River. The townhouse units, measuring 1,300 to 1,644 square feet, feature two floors on top of an attached garage.

"Our product is unique for downtown Reno," says Michael Adams, vice president of sales and marketing at SilverStar. Unlike the condo conversions, "It's not stacked housing. Residents can drive right into the garage. And, it's directly on the river."

But like the stacked condos these townhouses come with an elevator option a private elevator. Buyers can choose to have it built initially or added later, says Miller. While that sounds like a popular feature for the elderly, Miller says he has Baby Boomers in mind, "Making that purchase that they think might be their last purchase."

Grant's Landing pencils in the $100-per-square-foot range. But it wasn't the first idea for the site.

"When we purchase a property we look at its highest and best use," says Miller. For the Mill Street site, he first looked at high rises, then at mid-rises. But SilverStar found both cost prohibitive because the integrated parking garages required as part of the design drive costs into the $300- to $400-a-square-foot range.

Construction is expected to start by year-end.