Receiver gets The Palladio moving toward completion

The Palladio isn't the longest job in the career of construction veteran Dave Clark.

But it's been one of the most challenging for the former chairman and chief executive officer of Clark & Sullivan Constructors, who came out of retirement to oversee completion of the downtown Reno condominium project.

Clark had his fingers crossed last week that construction would resume after a five-week shutdown that resulted from a change in contractors to oversee the interior finish work.

And assuming that crews can get back to work, The Palladio at 1st and Sierra streets should be ready for the owners of its condos to begin moving in during late April and May.

But what a journey it's been since a district court judge named him the receiver of the property last autumn after cost overruns and delays ran through the funds that were available for construction.

In the voluntary receivership, the limited-liability corporation that developed The Palladio a corporation that included Denver-based Craig Nassi BCN Development and Reno's Royce Capital Advisors stepped aside at the request of Merrill Lynch, which provided the debt financing on the project.

Clark was brought in to protect the $28.55 million in debt financing that Merrill Lynch provided.

And, with any luck, the receivership hopes that BCN Development and Royce Capital investments can recover a portion of their investments. John Royce of Royce Capital Advisors told the Reno City Council in 2005 that his company provided $7.3 million in financing for The Palladio.

Clark now finds himself juggling several balls.

First, he needs to ensure that construction is finished. A bit of exterior work by Turner Construction remains to be done, he says, but most of the remaining tasks are carpet, painting and other interior finish.

At the same time that he's been pushing the construction to completion, Clark has been working mightily to keep the confidence of the 72 folks who have purchased homes in the 92-unit high-rise. A key element of that is monthly meetings between the new development team and the buyers.

"They come with questions," Clark says. "We've been very, very upfront with them. They've made their decision to live here. They are willing to work with us to make sure that it is delivered."

Some of the buyers' fears were laid to rest early on, when Clark pledged that his team would honor the buyers' purchase prices even though the building's cost would far exceed initial estimates.

The receiver also has been trying to schedule the interior work so that buyers who are under pressure to move in say, those who sold their previous homes can be among the first to arrive.

Clark contracted with Dickson Realty to handle marketing of the remaining 20 condo units in The Palladio.

With about 19,000 square feet of commercial space available for lease or rent on the first two floors of the building, Clark contracted with Colliers International to find retail or restaurant tenants.

And he convinced Merrill Lynch to invest another $3 million in the building beyond the $28.55 million it already had loaned the developer.

"They didn't panic," he says. "They've agreed to fund the money that was needed to complete the project."

With much of that work behind him, Clark will welcome the last logistical challenge: Negotiating the move-in of 90 households in about 30 days from tight downtown streets.