Several Carson City development projects moving ahead, if slowly

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Carson City’s many residential development projects continue to move forward, although several developers are reporting delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Government agencies have come to a screeching halt,” said Scott Christy, president, Christy Corp. Ltd., the engineering firm working on Andersen Ranch Estates. “We hope to have our LOMR approved by the end of the year.”

LOMR stands for "letter of map revision" issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to change a property’s flood hazard designation.

Christy said the developer plans to apply for the first building permits by year end.

Andersen Ranch Estates is a 203-lot development on a portion of the former Andersen Ranch between Mountain Street and Ormsby Boulevard. The project’s tentative map was approved by the Board of Supervisors in January.

“Lenders are a little more spooked in this market,” said Roger Rempfer, the developer working on Silver Crest Condominiums, a 51-unit condo project on Roland Street. “We are breaking ground in the next few months, but it is more difficult in this market. The market says we should be building now and should have been building sooner.”

The Board of Supervisors approved the project’s tentative map nearly a year ago, in September 2019.

“Institutions are moving very slowly these days,” said C.W. Clark, Clark Enterprises in San Diego, developer of a multifamily project on Little Lane. “We’re 60 days from the start of construction. We’re working on the second part of financing.”

The project is a two-story walkup featuring 126 apartments and amenities including pickleball courts. The Planning Commission in November approved a special use permit because the property is in a business zone.

Another Little Lane project is experiencing some delays, too.

“We’re still working on the final map. It’s been taking quite a while to get through the process,” said Fred Bates, developer on Little Lane Village, a 149 single-family home project that was approved by the supervisors in September.

Bates said he hopes to start working on the site next month and begin building by the end of year or next spring, depending on weather.

The third Little Lane project, Arbor Villas, is nearing completion. Some of the 147 attached single-family houses have already been sold and are occupied, others are on the market and some are still under construction.

Mills Landing, a similar project consisting of 105 attached homes on State Street, is also nearing completion, and Jackson Village, the long-delayed project of 41 single-family houses behind Kohl’s on Eagle Station Lane, is under construction and several houses are on the market. Two well-established developments, Silver Oak at the north end of town and Schulz Ranch at the south end, continue to pull permits and build.

Emerson Drive Cottages, a 37-lot project on Emerson Drive near College Parkway approved by the board in February, is back before the Planning Commission this month. The developer is seeking several modifications to the plan, including attached rather than detached houses and tandem parking.

John Krmpotic, president, KLS Planning & Design Group, said if the changes are approved the project should begin construction next spring.

The city’s largest new development, Carson Hills Apartments, the 370-unit apartment complex on Curry Street next to Galaxy Theatres, is now leasing. Five floorplans ranging from 714 to 1,188 square feet and leasing from $1,298 to $1,980 per month are available.

The development’s web site is https://www.carsonhills.com/.