Jacobs Entertainment continues work Reno’s Neon Line District

60-unit apartment complex expected to break ground in June

A rendering of the 60-unit apartment complex expected to break ground in June at the corners of Second Street and Arlington Avenue represents a small piece of Jacobs Entertainment’s sweeping redevelopment plans for west of downtown Reno.

A rendering of the 60-unit apartment complex expected to break ground in June at the corners of Second Street and Arlington Avenue represents a small piece of Jacobs Entertainment’s sweeping redevelopment plans for west of downtown Reno.

By Rob Sabo Special to NNBW

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

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 The 60-unit apartment complex expected to break ground in June at the corners of Second Street and Arlington Avenue represents a small piece of Jacobs Entertainment’s sweeping redevelopment plans for west of downtown Reno.

The multifamily project dubbed 245 North Arlington replaces the old Town House Motor Lodge, which was demolished in early 2021 after Jacobs purchased that property. Constructed in 1956, the Town House was a two-story brick building with 79 units.

The new building, one of several multifamily projects under construction on West Second Street, will be market-rate housing with 10 percent of the units reserved for workforce housing, Jacobs Entertainment chairman and chief executive office Jeff Jacobs told NNBW in an interview recently. Due to its proximity to the Truckee River, Jacobs sees West Second Street as a prime location for additional residential development over the next five to 10 years.

“Pretty quickly we will have more than 1,500 new people living downtown on West Second Street,” Jacobs said.

Gilbane Building Company is the general contractor for 245 North Arlington, which is expected to take roughly 12 months to complete, Jacobs said.

Jeff Jacobs

 


While West Second Street is destined for additional multifamily housing projects, West Fourth Street will become a commercial center for gaming and entertainment anchored by Jacobs Entertainment properties Sands Regency and Gold Dust West. Jacobs Entertainment has owned the Gold Dust for more than 20 years, and it purchased the Sands in 2017.

Jacob’s plans for the continued gentrification of the western section of downtown Reno could transform the area from a series of dilapidated motels, a closed wedding chapel, auto parts store, gas station and a handful of other small businesses into one of Reno’s premier entertainment districts.

Jacobs Entertainment owns large tracts of land throughout the West Fourth Street corridor. The company is currently developing a project titled Glow Plaza Festival Grounds near the Sands. Jacobs said the site could draw in more than 100,000 people annually to attend festivals and special events beginning in 2023.

Large-scale renovation plans are in the works at the Sands Regency as well. The property is slated to undergo a rebranding and complete remodel of its 800 hotel rooms. Phase 1 of the rebranded property will open next year, Jacobs said.

Possible expansion plans for the Sands property, meanwhile, could include doubling the size of the casino floor, adding an additional 1,200 hotel rooms, constructing a Las Vegas-style showroom, and building a 7,000- to 8,000-seat amphitheater, Jacobs told NNBW.

Jacobs Entertainment owns and operates the popular Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica amphitheater in Cleveland. Some of the notable artists scheduled for that venue’s summer concert series include Darius Rucker, Barenaked Ladies, Goo Goo Dolls, Alicia Keys and David Gray.

“We would like to talk with the city about adding an amphitheater downtown,” Jacobs said. “There’s a chance to create something very special downtown where the audience is looking right at the mountains.”

Courtesy Jacobs Entertainment
A rendering of the  60-unit apartment complex expected to break ground in June at the corners of Second Street and Arlington Avenue represents a small piece of Jacobs Entertainment’s sweeping redevelopment plans for west of downtown Reno.

 


Jacobs Entertainment also has listed two parcels it owns on the north side of West Fourth Street for additional private multifamily housing developments.

“The focus is getting a couple thousand residential units up out of the ground, which drives demand for services,” Jacobs said. “Then you can start looking at retail.”
Total redevelopment costs for Jacobs Entertainment are expected to top a half-billion dollars, Jacobs noted.

Clearly, Jacobs remains bullish on Northern Nevada. He doubled down on Northern Nevada after gaming revenue stabilized as the region exited the punishing effects of the Great Recession in the early 2010s, he told NNBW.

“When Native American gaming came to Northern California, gaming (in Reno) dropped by a third,” he said. “But that stabilized right about the same time that the economy bottomed, and people were starting to think about Reno as an eastern suburb of the Bay Area.”

The region’s explosive growth and extended building boom since coming out of the recession has diversified and strengthened the local economy, he added. Reno has transformed from a small to a medium-sized city, and there eventually could be as many as 1 million residents in the Truckee Meadows, he said.

“There’s more demand, which means you can take more risk,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs Entertainment is currently halfway through its ambitious 10-year redevelopment plan.

“I think we will be able to realize our vision,” Jacobs said. “We see Reno’s Neon Line District as a live, work, play environment. The way we are doing this is good for the city. The crime rate in the west part of downtown is down 80 percent since we demolished 12 or more motels. This is the way to have gentrification in a way that is a win-win, and we look forward to the future.”

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