Maytan building scheduled for retail, office renovation

An iconic retail building on the border of Midtown and the West of Wells district has been acquired by a family investment group that plans renovation of the space into retail, restaurant and office uses.

The building at 777 S. Center St. was purchased by a trust controlled by Thomas Y. Johnson, manager of the Sperry Van Ness operations in Reno, and his wife, Linda. Their daughter, Tomi Jo Lynch, an associate at Sperry Van Ness, also is working on the renovation plans.

Johnson has plenty of experience breathing new life into old buildings, including a large portion of downtown Carson City as well as the central districts of Reno.

“It’s what I enjoying doing,” he says. “I’m pretty good at it and enjoy doing it.”

The family investment group was looking at properties in Midtown, downtown and East Fourth Street when it settled on the Maytan Building, built in 1959 to house a music business that was destination of countless parents when their children started lessons. The original building was expanded a couple of times.

Maytan Music Center, a retailer founded 54 years ago by Steve and Iris Maytan and later operated by their children, closed last month.

Johnson said the building’s solid construction, its exposure to Center Street and nearby Virginia Street, and the widening Midtown rejuvenation movement into properties on Center all played a role in the family’s decision to purchase it.

It includes 24,468 square feet, plus a 6,000-square-foot finished basement.

The building’s new owners haven’t determined the exact mix of retail, office and restaurant uses for the renovated building, an d Johnson says tenant demand will help establish the plan. Spaces as small as 1,200 square feet or as large as the entire building would be available, Johnson said.

Jack Hawkins of Reno’s Hawkins & Associates Architectures and Interiors is architect on the project, which will include exterior and streetscape improvements. Hawkins’s work in the Midtown area has included the Stremmel Gallery and 8 on Center.

Work is likely to begin in about a month, with completion of the renovation expected by the first quarter of 2015, Johnson said.

The transaction also included the corner lot at Cheney Street and South Virginia. Johnson said the new owners have no current plans to develop that parcel.

Johnson represented himself in the transaction. The seller was represented by Ian Cochran of Stark & Associates.