Shared equity jump-starts lifestyle and sports center

A slow-to-develop proposal for a court-sports facility in south Reno has new life and a new financial plan.

Stable Development LLC of Las Vegas is spearheading development of Jogo Lifestyle Center, which will combine a heath club, wellness center and public recreation facilities along with office spaces.

The 100,000-square-foot project is just southwest of the Damonte Ranch interchange on Highway 395.

It's scheduled to break ground late this year, with completion anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2010, said J. Kale Flagg of Stable Development.

Flagg said a financial plan that Stable Development calls "shared equity" is expected to jump-start the Jogo project.

In that plan, occupants of the building own their spaces. They don't put up any cash up front. They hold a 40 equity interest in the property and receive a portion of net cash flows and depreciation tax benefits.

Stable Development has commitments for about 85,000 square feet of the building.

A major tenant is Jogo LLC, which will operate court-sports facilities available for tournaments and other events. They'll also be available for rent by the public between events.

Jogo LLC, managed by Joe Garcia and Mike Neeser, initially planned to raise $10 million from investors to develop the project entirely with equity. Garcia and Neeser now are co-developers of the project with Stable Development.

Initially, the court-sports building was scheduled for completion in mid-2007.

Stable Development, which has developed more than a million square feet of professional and office buildings in the western United States, is targeting medical and health-related users for the 35,000 square feet of office space in the Jogo Lifestyle Center.

While money for office and commercial projects remains tight, Flagg said the developer takes a conservative approach to its financing needs.

Stable Development has signed agreements personally guaranteed with occupants of its buildings before it nails down financing and has found that the shared-equity plan reduces vacancies even though the developer gives up a 40 percent equity stake.

"It's less greedy," he says. "It's also more stable."

The developer's projects in southern Nevada include a 16.6-acre business park in southwest Las Vegas, a 40,000-square-foot medical office and surgery center in Henderson and a mixed-use office, retail and condo project in west Las Vegas.