Committee to discuss revised $49.6 million City Center Project

With the City Center Project's planners back from the drawing board, a citizens' committee will weigh in Monday night on the revamped, reduced but still controversial plan to transform part of downtown.

The Carson City Center Project Citizens' Committee will review the new design and financing details for the project, and its backers are hoping for a favorable response.

"I'm really happy with the changes," said Library Director Sara Jones. "It was a grand plan, and we'd have loved all those things to have happened because we believe strongly that the library is the catalytic piece, but we've come up with a simpler, more understated plan."

In a document prepared for the citizens' committee, Jones and City Manager Larry Werner outline some of the more significant changes designed to resolve a number of issues presented during public hearings during the past year.

An $87 million downtown redevelopment project involving a public-private partnership was first proposed after Steve Neighbors, sole trustee for the Carson Nugget's owner, Mae B. Adams, approached the city after Adams' death in 2009. Neighbors said Adams had created a trust that she intended to be used for Carson City's benefit.

Together the city and Neighbors worked out a plan involving about 8 acres of Nugget parking lot space, which would accommodate an ambitious redevelopment project, including a new downtown library as the centerpiece - all intended to create jobs and revitalize the city's dying downtown core.

The public side of the project, estimated at $31.9 million, involved the library, known as the Knowledge and Discovery Center; a public plaza; a parking garage; and the supporting infrastructure.

The private portion, with a cost of $52.3 million, was to include room for state offices as well as retail and housing space and a hotel.

The community has been deeply divided by the proposal, however, and after months of public hearings and plan revisions, the Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 in February to take the next step in determining whether a revised project, scaled back from $87 million to $84.2 million, would work for Carson City.

Since then, the city has terminated its agreement with project developer P3 Development, which had created conceptual plans, because both parties agreed they were headed in different directions.

The Carson City Library Foundation, using funds from the Mae B. Adams Trust, then contracted with H&K Architects of Reno and another consultant, Winston and Associates to prepare a new set of plans, which the citizens' committee will review on Monday.

The project's financing and its footprint have both been significantly reduced in scope, both financially and geographically.

Ben Contine of Carson City, who teaches math to special-education students at Carson High School, is among those who favor the project.

As an educator, he sees the Knowledge and Discovery Center as a huge civic asset for mainstream students as well as special-ed students.

"I see the kids who sometimes struggle to stay in the box, who would just love the opportunity to take the things they learn about in school and apply it toward something real and tangible." He sees the project as a way to "synthesize" the assets of the community, its schools and its businesses.

"Cost is always a concern," Contine acknowledged, "but if we look five years down the road ... we need to think of it as an investment toward that."

FINANCING DETAILS

The new project cost is estimated at $49.6 million. The public portion, $23.8 million, would come from redevelopment funds and a 1/8-cent sales tax increase. The remaining $25.8 million would come from the donation of the land and from federal and private sources.

Broken down, that would mean the total project construction cost is estimated at about $45 million, plus a $4.5 million land value.

Among the most obvious changes the committee will discuss will be this financing portion of the plan, which previously had included $1.2 million from the general fund.

The new revenue plan calls for a down payment of the land, donated by the Mae B. Adams Trust, and the still-controversial 1/8-cent sales tax increase, which is expected to yield $12 million. The increase has been estimated to cost a family of four $26 per year over the 30-year life of the loan.

Other funding would include Redevelopment Agency funds, $11.3 million, to come only from within the designated project area over about 30 years, and a one-time contribution of $500,000 from the water/sewer/stormwater fund for infrastructure work.

The remainder of the cost would be made up by anticipated money from both a federal economic development agency grant of $3 million, and $18.3 million in private funds from the Mae B. Adams Trust and the Carson City Library Foundation.

OTHER REVISIONS

A number of points of contention also were addressed in the revision:

• Some residents objected to the idea that the city would not own the land underneath the projects. In the original arrangement, it was intended to be kept by the Adams Trust after the project's payoff so that property taxes could continue to feed city coffers. Many believed, however, that the city should own the land as well as the buildings.

Jones said that has now changed.

At the end of 30 years, the land under the library, parking garage and plaza would be deeded over to a yet-to-be-created not-for-profit entity comprising the Carson City Board of Supervisors, the Carson City Library Board of Trustees and the Adams Trust.

"In the end, Steve Neighbors believes that will satisfy what he promised," Jones said.

• The project area has been scaled back to about 3 acres from the initial 8 acres, which had included visions of a transportation hub as well as all the private-sector components.

• The only retail planned at this time will be an 11,000-square-foot wrap around the bottom of the parking garage, where there might be an ice cream shop, a graphic arts studio or some other small business, Jones said.

• Plans have been shelved for state offices, residential housing and a hotel.

• The biggest design change would be placement of the project. The previous design called for tearing up streets. The new project site is bounded by East Robinson Street to the north, South Stewart Street to the east, East Proctor Street to the south and South Plaza Street to the west.

• The original plans included a considerable "business incubator" component, which has now been scaled back. A digital media component also has been scaled back.

• The design includes a 65,000-square-foot Knowledge and Discovery Center, a 395-stall parking structure and a public plaza.

"H&K listened to all the stakeholders and brought a creative touch to everything," Jones said.

DIVIDED OPINION

While Contine and other proponents see the project's cost as an investment, others in the community remain unconvinced.

Carol Howell, who has spoken out against the project since the beginning, said the timing is all wrong.

"I've been through every inch of the design. It's a very pretty project, and this is a much better report, but after hearing ... about the dire straits the city is in financially, I don't understand how they can continue to put time, resources and money into this and continue to push this down our throats," Howell said.

"Timing is everything. I know they want to leave a legacy and see our city grow, but why now?" she said. "We need to protect our service personnel - fire and police - right now."

Contine takes a longer-term view: "There are a lot of great things in Carson City right now that we enjoy," he said, citing his 7-year-old son Will's involvement in library reading programs and children's theater. "And for us to be a 21st-century community, to compete for 21st-century jobs, we need to be providing 21st-century opportunities."

Bruce Kittess, who is a member of the citizens' committee, said he believes he's the token "No" vote on the committee.

"Why move forward when so many facts are not in evidence? There are just too many questions. What is the lease payment going to be?" Kittess said.

"I am skeptical of three-party agreements; two is hard enough. And I would want to hear more about how everything is going to be maintained," he said, adding that "those library folks are tenacious."

Jones, the library chief, emphasized that the project's backers and planners tried to address opponents' concerns and objections.

"We wanted people to know we really did listen to them very hard and made a lot of adjustments," she said. "We paid a lot of attention to those who spoke at the citizens' committee, the Board of Supervisors and in letters to the editor."