Downtown retail

A Reno development company plans a couple of mid-sized commercial projects in downtown Reno and downtown Sparks.

Timber Ridge Development LLC plans the 6,000-square-foot, 5th Street Pavilion at Nevada and 5th streets in downtown Reno, near Saint Mary's Hospital.

In Sparks, the company plans a 5,700- square-foot project, C Street Pavilion, at the northeast corner of Pyramid Avenue and C Street on the eastern edge of Victorian Square and across the street from a new In-and-Out Burger location.

Brendan Egan, president and chief executive officer of Timber Ridge Development, said the company has been able to assemble land packages at reasonable cost and believes the neighborhoods are underserved with retail.

Within a mile of the downtown Reno project, for example, the company estimates daytime employment at 29,000 people.

"The food guys have been knocking on our door non-stop," Egan said last week.

Gary Duhon, an attorney and vice president of Timber Ridge, said retail activity in downtown Reno will be spurred further by the $160 million expansion of the nearby Saint Mary's campus.

The redevelopment of the former Sundowner hotel and casino into condominium spaces will add to the area's retail strength.

The Sparks project, meanwhile, is expected to draw both from the pedestrian-oriented Victorian Square and the busy vehicle traffic on Pyramid.

Chris Waizmann of Trammell Crow Co., who is handling the leasing of both projects, said the Sparks development is planned to include a drive-through coffee shop along with other tenants in the 1,000- to 1,600- square-foot range.

Along with food operators, convenience mailing centers are among the potential tenants of the Reno project.

It includes spaces as small as 1,200 square feet.

Although both projects are within the redevelopment districts designated by the Reno and Sparks city governments, Timber Ridge Development is undertaking the projects as traditional developments.

Both projects will involve demolition or removal of existing structures a couple of houses and an old store in Sparks, a house on the Reno property.

Duhon said the company focuses on medium-sized retail projects.

"We're in a really good niche," he said.

"We're between the larger companies that want larger projects and small investors who want to buy income properties."

Timber Ridge has land for another development under contract and is in serious negotiation yet another.

"We're very optimistic about the community especially the downtowns in Reno and Sparks,"Duhon said.

He said officials in both cities have been strongly supportive of its plans.

Egan, a veteran of industrial development with DP Partners, said the approach of Timber Ridge Development is very conservative.

It doesn't buy land until potential tenants have had a chance to offer their opinions, and it sets a high threshold of signed leases before it begins construction.

Along with Egan and Duhon, the company's principals include Mark Simons, a Reno attorney.

Outside investors also provide equity for individual projects.