The small patch of land at the corner of First and Sierra Streets in downtown Reno wasn't a hot seller for broker Kelly Bland, Colliers International senior vice president.
So he bought the 7,483-square-foot bit of land for himself.
"It's my first for-real development," says Bland.
As a broker and senior vice president with Colliers, Bland has helped numerous developers make profit-and-loss decisions to buy or not to buy, to build retail or office, to go condo or lease.
And why jump into development himself after such success as a commercial broker? "I've liked the area around the theater for a number of years," says Bland.
He started talking informally with the city of Reno more than two years ago, he says.And he filed a letter of interest in the summer of 2003.As the months passed, he continued to shop the property to tenants and when he began to see serious interest, he got serious, too.
It's a $2 million development, according to Peter Gillon, Reno Redevelopment Agency administrator.And the investment represents a huge vote of local confidence in the downtown area.
Though Bland says he is pleased with his purchase of the land, which he bought through DT Development LLC, he readily adds that it's challenging to get it to pencil out.
It helps, he says, that he can plow his broker's fees back into the deal, and it's good that he has leases signed and ready to go.
Working with Joel Grace, a Colliers associate for retail properties, and Mark Keyzers, a Collier senior associate, Bland has lined up three casual eateries Taco del Mar, Figaro's Pizza, and the Cold Stone Creamery for the corner.
The property, named River's Edge Retail Center, is slated for completion by the end of this summer and will be developed as a onestory, 4,850-square-foot building.
It's being built tall, says Bland, to stay in context with the surrounding buildings.
And one of the most exciting things about the building, says Jeff Frame of Rose Frame Romero Architects, the architect on the project, is the outdoor eating area.
"That was something Kelly (Bland) brought to the table," says Frame."And it will bring a new liveliness to the corner."
The business opportunity was what attracted him to the site, says Bland.
But, he adds,"it was also an opportunity to assist downtown Reno in its redevelopment." A native Nevadan, Bland has made it a point to hire local resources.
Rose Frame Romero Architects is a local firm.
Reno-based Moody Weiske Contractors is the construction company.And financing is through Heritage Bank of Reno.
