Nugget Project: The Parking String

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uLECuGK07U

Several people at yesterday's Board of Supervisors meeting mentioned the generosity of Mae Adams for donating land to Carson City for the proposed Knowledge and Discovery Center and public plaza, the centerpiece of the City Center/Nugget Project.

I've heard some critics complain about this donation, which does little to bolster their case. Despite the unorthodox lease deal, it really is a donation we should be thankful to have the option of using for a new library.

But this donation does come with one very large and expensive string attached.

In order for the city to use this land, it has to build a parking garage to make up for the loss in spaces created by the new library and plaza.

Carson Nugget President Steve Neighbors explained last night that the casino needs parking in order to remain a viable business, and I doubt anyone wants to create a situation where one of the largest employers in town is forced to close its doors.

It's a reasonable request to require the city to make up for all that lost parking space.

But, this requirement does blunt the value of the donation by $7.8 million. That is the cost of building the parking garage. So essentially, the city would be paying $7.8 million for the approximately 3 acres of land on which to put the library and plaza.

I'm no real estate expert, but that sounds like a lot of money to pay for a piece of land.

A quick scan of the commercial land available in Carson City shows a number of parcels that could be purchased for a fraction of the cost of this proposed parking garage. One listing I found was a 3.82 acre parcel adjacent to Carson High School (a seemingly perfect location if our goal is education) for only $1.6 million.

Sticking with downtown, one parcel in particular that has been mentioned is the old V&T Roundhouse property, one block north of the Nugget. I'm told that the owner of this land would rather lease than sell at this time, and there may be environmental mitigation work required to make it suitable. But if a deal could be struck, it seems a great location, and could be a small step in restoring the history of that land. Imagine a new library that incorporates some of the old roundhouse structure, and a plaza that tells the story of the V&T. That would fit right in with the city's previous economic revitalization project, the as-yet-unfinished V&T Railway.

Perhaps we also need to open our eyes and consider areas other than downtown. The north end of town really needs more help than any other area, and there seems to be several parcels that could be suitable for a library and park in that area.

If the library really wanted to save money on the structure to have more funds for books, staffing and technology, there's always the old Kmart building. That place is big enough to house a huge library, digital media lab and studio, cafe, conference space, business incubator, classrooms and more. The outside could be spruced up to make it more attractive, add windows and other amenities.

Part of that building could also be used for indoor recreation space, which could tie into the $6 million the city has to spend on a multipurpose athletic center, which the board discussed earlier in the meeting yesterday. Combining these projects together could save a lot of money on building a new structure, leaving more to spend on amenities for citizens to use.

The proximity of the K-Mart building to Western Nevada College and Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center doesn't hurt, either.

And there is a big, unused parking lot, part of which could be turned into a beautiful plaza, an outdoor space that could revitalize the struggling retail businesses in that area and attract people with concerts and events.

This is just one possibility. Once you open your eyes to other options, and realize the $7.8 million additional cost to the city of developing the project on the Nugget property, it opens up a world of other opportunities.

I know there are people who are dead set on pushing the Nugget development through no matter what. But that forces me to ask the question, what is more important, the library building and location, or the books, materials, technology and people that go inside of it?

If the primary purpose is to help our children and improve the educational opportunities in this city, then the building shouldn't matter. Buildings don't teach kids to read, books do.

I keep getting reminded of the saying, "When your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Perhaps we are guilty of tunnel vision created by the Nugget Project proposal and the generous gift from Mae Adams.

But when the cost of making use of the gift is more than the value it provides, perhaps it's time to look for other options.