Much of the work on the casino remains unfinished since construction workers walked off the jobsite in 2015 due to nonpayment.
CRYSTAL BAY, Nev. — Nine months after the owners of the Cal Neva Lodge & Casino filed for bankruptcy, not much has changed to the famed resort once owned by Frank Sinatra and frequented by celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe.
Today, the lake-front property at the California/Nevada border on Tahoe’s North Shore the remains fenced-off and vacant.
During a recent Truckee North Tahoe Transportation Management Association meeting, Incline Village representative Kristina Hill said she gets many calls from people interested in finding out the status of the resort, and isn’t sure what to tell them.
“I really don’t have much to contribute to what is going on with the property,” Hill said in an email to the Sierra Sun. “I know it is in bankruptcy court in Reno. Many potential buyers call me and ask me questions, but I don’t know the status of ownership. I only hope someone buys it soon and completes the renovation.”
Napa Valley-based real estate firm Criswell Radovan purchased the 10-story resort in 2013 and closed it shortly after for renovations.
Hill, who works as a land-use planner, had helped the firm acquire permits from Washoe County and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to renovate the property.
Several grand opening dates in the years to follow were scheduled, but the resort was never re-opened. In 2015, construction workers reportedly walked off the job site because they hadn’t been paid. Then, last June, Criswell-Radovan filed for bankruptcy.
The case was originally filed in a Santa Rosa, Calif. court, in the county where the real estate company is based. Several delays have occurred since, according to court documents, including a dispute over the attorney representing Criswell-Radovan and a lengthy motion to move the case from a court in Santa Rosa to one in Reno.
As of Monday afternoon, workers were at the job site pulling items from the resort’s interior and loading them into storage containers.
On Tuesday, a notice was filed scheduling a hearing on May 2 for the approval of the creditors’ joint disclosure statement.
Attempts to contact Criswell Radovan for this article, as well as the attorney handling the bankruptcy, were unsuccessful.
Amanda Rhoades is a news, environment and business reporter for the Sierra Sun. She can be reached at arhoades@sierrasun.com or 530-550-2653. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @akrhoades.
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