Chamber News & Views: Got a spare cool million or two?

Downtown Carson City is for sale — parts of it that is — and if you’ve got a spare few million dollars, you could be the proud owner of a historic building or two. After all, not everyone can own a piece of history while becoming a partner in the new downtown.

While anything is for sale at any time for the right price, there are a few buildings that stand out. New owners could take these buildings to the next level to make ours the downtown so many envision.

Of course, the biggest listing of all is the Ormbsy House. Though the selling price has not been revealed, rumor has it that it can be bought for a song when you consider all the land that goes with it including a parking garage that could solve some of the downtown parking issues, perceived or not.

Once the very heart of the downtown and just about everyone’s favorite place to see and be seen, this structure needs a good steward who will breathe life into it and create the excitement that will once again draw visitors and locals through its front doors. Why it hasn’t opened after all these years and all the time and dollars spent into retrofitting it to date is a story that has two sides.

If the Ormsby House finds a good steward with millions to invest who will embrace the vision of creating a true 4-star hotel for this city that has amazing and much needed meeting space already roughed out on the second floor, you can bet you’ll see many small conventions and meetings be booked. With three hotels right in proximity, this could be a win-win for creating more revenue for this city and cleaning up a now blighted area that could be put to a higher and better use.

Other interesting “for sale” buildings listed recently on LoopNet.com:

The former Horseshoe Club is listed for $1.3 million. That location had undergone many a metamorphous and we can’t wait to see what comes next, whether it is three separate businesses or one larger business. There’s lots of work that needs to be done to make this building attractive, but in real estate, it’s all about location, location, location. And, this property has that well covered.

318 N. Carson Street is on the market. Those who grew up here remember this building fondly as Murdoch’s. As with many downtown Carson City buildings, this one, too, fell into disrepair and was rescued by the late architect Art Hannifin whose vision included making it a central location for professional offices. In the late 1990s the building was fully rented and the first floor featured the popular B’Sghetti’s, later reincarnated as the trendy Sassafras Eclectic Food Joint — now located at 1500 Old Hot Springs Road — and the Carson Cigar Bar. Today, there’s the upscale Mystique’s Restaurant and the Carson Cigar Bar is still there. Only $1,750,000 for one of the best addresses in this city.

311 N. Carson’s main tenant is the popular Basil Restaurant and features two stories of mixed use offices. There’s been much work done on this building over the years and it can be yours for only $1,250,000.

301 N. Carson, better known by locals as the Sweetland Building, is best known for housing everyone’s favorite small Italian eatery, Garibaldi’s. $1,600,000 and it’s yours!

Ever wanted your own garage, gasoline station and mini-mart? One of Carson’s most visible and most popular service stations is listed for sale at 705 N. Carson St. Bob’s Shell is yours for $1,300,000.

The building housing the nightclub Living the Good Life as their tenant can be yours for $575,000. A bargain when considering the other pricing. Lots of remodeling has gone on here.

An amazing piece of history that was brought lovingly back to life by Carlita Ray in the mid-2000s, is back on the market. The Brougher-Bath Mansion is beautifully restored inside and out and is now being used as offices, but could be once again reincarnated into a beautiful mansion occupied by those who want to live in one of the best homes on the historic west side. Asking $1,000,800.

The Back On Track Inn located beside the Children’s Museum is for sale. The 33-unit motel is yours for a mere $1,500,000, but would need lots of TLC.

501 S. Carson is a well-maintained 3-story office building across from the capitol with plenty of parking spaces, now housing Sierra Dental and business offices. This corner lot across from the Ormsby House is going for $2,490,000.

In south Carson, the 26-unit Mill House Inn motel can be had for $2,950,000 and is considered a great 3.52-acre lot for redevelopment opportunity in the heart of the very business auto row and shopping district.

There’s more for sale, for as we wrote earlier, anything is for sale at the right price. And, we’re sure these prices are negotiable. Check out LoopNet.com for other properties for sale.

Ronni Hannaman is the executive director of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce.