Warehouse project carries hope for revitalized area

John Ascuaga hopes a new warehouse developed by his casino and resort in Sparks becomes the start of something bigger.

The 22,000-square-foot warehouse on Pacific Avenue, about a block north of Rock Boulevard, faces the railroad tracks in a neighborhood that hasn't seen much investment for decades.

Ascuaga, whose company bought a couple of rundown houses to assemble a 30,000-square-foot parcel for the warehouse, would like to see other private investment into the neighborhood to begin turning it around.

And he's putting a little extra into the warehouse property full landscaping around its perimeter, for instance as an additional contribution to getting the neighborhood revitalization started.

The warehouse, which is directly under the flight path into Reno-Tahoe International Airport, removes some houses from airport noise, Ascuaga says.

The $1.5 million facility, built by Panattoni Construction, will store hotel fixtures, carpeting, banquet equipment and other merchandise for John Ascuaga's Nugget.

"You never can have too much storage," Ascuaga says.

The company previously leased storage space on Spice Island Drive but wanted larger and more convenient space that it could own rather than lease.

"We've got to look to the future for our operation," Ascuaga says. The facility incorporates green-building elements such as high-efficiency lighting.

The new warehouse, he notes, is more than four times larger than the location on B Street in Sparks where he launched The Nugget more than 50 years ago.