Next Thursday, July 16, the Carson City Board of Supervisors will weigh a $30 million proposal to relocate local government offices into a proposed 45,000-square-foot facility, a move which could significantly reshape the downtown corridor.
The board will review the proposal from the Hop & Mae Adams Foundation for a lease-purchase agreement situated on a 25,600-square-foot downtown parcel.
If advanced, the public-private partnership would consolidate scattered city departments into a single, centralized customer service center, according to Carson City Manager Glen Martel.
In the staff report, Martel describe the project as a cornerstone for downtown revitalization that will modernize civic infrastructure and stimulate economic investment in the city’s core.
The push for a new facility stems from a multi-year space needs assessment driven by overcrowding at the existing courthouse building according to city documents.
The ongoing $22 million courthouse renovation is working to expand the facility to accommodate the third court required by law due to our growing population.
To make room for the judicial expansion, the city must relocate the Clerk-Recorder and the Department of Alternative Sentencing. If this proposal is approved, the Clerk-Recorder and Elections office would ultimately be funneled into the new City Hall.
Under the proposed arrangement, the Hop & Mae Adams Foundation would manage the complex construction phase using a $28 million commercial line of credit. The city’s term sheet caps the total lease-purchase amount at $30 million.
To fund the facility, the city plans to initially tap into Redevelopment Authority (RDA) tax proceeds. Once the downtown and south RDA districts expire in 2031 and 2034 respectively, the debt service will transition to the city’s General Fund.
Finance officials conservatively project annual payments of about $2.15 million, which projections show will keep the city’s overall General Fund debt burden safely within historical norms of $3 million to $3.5 million.
A critical component of the proposed agreement, according to the agenda, is an “off-ramp” clause allowing Carson City to buy out the lease and acquire the facility outright at any time without a prepayment penalty.
In the documents, Martel notes that if the city chooses to execute the buyout, issuing a non-taxable municipal revenue bond would likely be the most fiscally responsible path to secure the lowest long-term interest rates.
Thursday’s potential action will not finalize the deal. A motion to approve would simply authorize the city manager to draft a formal lease-purchase agreement and negotiate a separate contract for a parking garage, which would be brought back to the board for final consideration at a future meeting.
The Board of Supervisors will meet at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 16, in the Robert ‘Bob’ Crowell Board Room at the Carson City Community Center, located at 851 E. William St.. Members of the public can attend in person or watch a livestream of the proceedings at www.carsoncity.gov/granicus or on cable channel 191. Public comment can be provided during the meeting, and speakers are limited to three minutes each.
You can view the full agenda below:
