Owners of historic Olcovich House get city help for remodel

City leaders approved spending $41,000 in redevelopment funds to help the new owners of the historic Olcovich House on Curry Street renovate the property to be a home and antique store.

Carson City supervisors agreed to reimburse Jennifer Verive and Gary Cain a portion of a $205,000 improvement project, which will include replacing the roof and crown molding, rebuilding the front porch, building a new garage, and replacing the chimney.

"I think it's a very worthwhile project," said Supervisor Shelly Aldean.

Mayor Ray Masayko thanked the couple for considering the project for downtown. They plan to open Westwall Militaria, a retail shop specializing in authentic military antiques, in April.

"Thank you for your creativity," Masayko told them Thursday. "This is really a breath of fresh air and an item of good news, as far as this property is concerned."

Verive and Cain purchased the house at 412 N. Curry St. and will live upstairs while operating the retail shop.

"Westwall" is a term the Allies in World War II used to determine the western side of the German defense line. Cain will start with a $100,000 inventory of military items that will sell from $1 to $10,000.

Cain said he also plans to host a show in Carson and will look for educational opportunities in the area. The couple will also offer a comprehensive military history library with more than 3,500 books and publications and an extensive reference collection of museum-quality World War II uniforms and military vehicles.

"We're in it for the long haul," Verive said.

Verive will also run her Internet business from the property. Verive is founder and CEO of White Rabbit Virtual Inc., which develops research-based training and performance management programs.

Hyman Olcovich, a prominent Jewish citizen, built the house in 1876. He offered it for bar mitzvahs, weddings, seders and other religious ceremonies.

In the 1900s, James Woodbury, a superintendent for several mills on the Carson River, purchased the house. Woodbury became an Ormsby County commissioner and a state senator.

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In other action Thursday, the Board of Supervisors, acting as the city's Redevelopment Authority, deferred a plan that called for designating South Carson Street commercial district as the city's second redevelopment district. The plan will be reconsidered after the Carson City Area Chamber of Commerce's board of directors discusses it, supervisors said.

Contact Jill Lufrano at jlufrano@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.