Council chooses developer for downtown Mapes site

RENO - The Reno City Council has chosen a California developer to revamp the site of the cleared Mapes Hotel in downtown.

The council selected Barney Ng in a unanimous vote Monday night. The city's redevelopment staff now has 120 days to negotiate a development agreement with Ng and bring it back to the council for final approval.

Ng, of San Leandro, Calif., already has a presence in downtown Reno. He owns the Holiday Hotel, now being remodeled, and has an agreement to purchase the empty lot next to the Riverside Hotel.

His plans for the Mapes block call for a specialty retail shopping, with an art gallery and outdoors store, centered on a plaza along the Truckee River.

But Ng also anticipates going up several stories with timeshares or condominiums.

Another developer, Richard Wilkerson, of Orange County, Calif., proposed open space along the river with a high-rise building with retail, timeshares and a hotel-casino.