Downtown, midtown, all around the town

Reno is a city with a bit of an image problem. For too many years we have suffered from poor marketing, bad communication and too much of a focus on trying to be something we are not. When the economic crisis hit, Reno was devastated. Parts of our community quickly fell into disrepair and neglect, and as businesses shuttered their doors and left town, we saw our economy, our morale and our once proud city sink into the doldrums.

During better times when Reno saw explosive growth, our downtown core withered. The suburbs exploded with new development as luxurious community after luxurious community sprang forth from the sagebrush bearing cutesy Italian-inspired names and stucco in every shade of beige imaginable. Suburban Reno was trying to become suburban Las Vegas, and little thought was given to the future, as realtors became order-takers and developers scrambled to erect houses and strip malls as fast as humanly possible.

Downtown redevelopment, however, hasn’t been nearly as robust. The city has been active in trying to stem the decay, evidenced by investments in projects like Aces Ballpark, the Reno Events Center, our spectacular whitewater park, and turning the decrepit, derelict Riverside hotel into a cool landmark filled with retail space, artists living in the converted hotel rooms, and a trendy restaurant, but work still needs to be done. Some of these projects have been successful, some have not, but it’s important to remain vigilant in this endeavor. Downtown can be beautiful again, and it’s going to happen with persistence, hard work and innovation.

Oft-maligned as nothing more than seedy bars and tattoo parlors, I invite the naysayers to dig a bit deeper. The Good Luck Macbeth Theatre Company, for example, turned an empty jewelry store into a fun little theater where one can go for some local culture. Now if only the ribald leadership over at the Pioneer Center would recognize that although big name musicals are fun on occasion, that beautiful venue can be used for so much more than it is. It’s a community treasure and it saddens me that the irritating, obnoxious team that purports to run the place greedily hoard it, rather than make it available and accessible to everyone in the community. I only hope that as the RSCVA continues to evolve to meet Reno’s ever-changing demands, they keep this in mind. Too many nights that venue sits empty and dark, and it’s a shame. It’s time for a new direction there, and I can only hope it happens sooner rather than later. Until that time, my donation check will be going elsewhere.

Now it’s midtown’s turn. A dilapidated wedding chapel has been transmogrified into the Old Granite Street Eatery. Our ugly, sad excuse for a former City Hall is now the Terry Lee Wells Discovery Museum, the single greatest thing to happen to Reno in the past 10 years. What was once a fortune teller’s house is now Süp Restaurant. Things are cleaner, nicer, and residents and visitors regularly walk the streets. The area’s distinct seediness is much less pronounced, and it’s so tremendously awesome to see the leaders in this area stepping up to the plate to turn this neighborhood into the fun cool place they know it can be.

Due to term limits, we will be seeing a major overhaul of the Reno City Council this election cycle. A wide variety of candidates have popped up for these seats, and I look forward to having the redevelopment discussion with them. We are starting to see some shoots of green here in Reno, and our new City Council must do everything possible to keep this momentum going. We simply must take pride in our city again, and the time for leadership is now.