Some West Street Market Tenants leaked
A food angel whispered into food extraordinaire Jonathan Wright’s ear that a Nick’s Greek Deli is among the tenants scheduled for West Street Market downtown. The other new item not mentioned previously is Se7en Teahouse being part of the lineup. That’s surprising given they have a location less than a block away. That should play out interestingly. I would have expected Reno restaurants that don’t already have a downtown presence would be the ones interested in setting up shop at West Street Market. We’ll see when the big lineup is announced May 14! Let’s not forget that people overwhelmingly voted for ethnic-specific grocery stalls in my poll.
Continue reading postReno Sparks Residential Market Update
Sales in April 2008 were off 24% from the year prior, but activity in the low end continues to improve. The under $300K range decreased to 12 months of inventory with another big jump in pendings from 370 to 490. The $300K-500K range came down to just over 12 months of inventory showing improved activity […]
Continue reading postGold Butte In The News
Apr. 28, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
COMMON GROUND
Gold Butte lures off-roaders, historians, conservationists
STORY BY KEITH ROGERS * PHOTOS BY GARY THOMPSON * REVIEW-JOURNAL
Roy and Betsy Miller cringed at the sight of fresh vehicle ruts that left a zig-zag scar on what had been a picturesque Mojave Desert hill off a dirt road that […]
Another STAR Fleecing of Nevadans
That Great Nevadan corporate giveaway, otherwise know as the Sales Tax Anticipated Revenue (STAR) bond, is once again preparing to fleece taxpayers and shaft local businesses who play by the rules. And, as an added bonus this time, we have the Reno Gazette-Journal’s editorial board supporting the move, albeit grudgingly, with the asinine “well, 25% of something is better than 100% of nothing” argument.
Foolish us, we always thought STAR bonds, which allow developers to keep 75% of the sales tax generated for 20 years, were originally designed for projects that actually promoted real tourism, not oversized shopping malls. But much like Cabela’s managed to snooker Reno with its ludicrous claim of drawing millions of completely new visitors solely because they could now, we guess, buy a duck blind in person, Sparks is falling for the same spiel from the Legend’s project.
What’s so laughable about this special treatment is how little economic thought apparently goes into government’s decision.
First off, the main argument (perpetuated by the RGJ’s board) is that somehow every dime spent in these retail projects is newfound money. Money, and tax dollars, that wouldn’t exist because, you know, there aren’t any other retail stores or restaurants in town. This is the same story always put forward by sports teams whenever owners want the public to foot the bill for a new stadium. They come up with some huge economic benefit, calculated on ticket sales and surrounding expenditures, and say “See all that what we bring you.”
But the dirty little secret is this is just a reallocation of money. When a family decides to spend their Friday night out at the game, it’s almost always at the expense of going to the movies or a Chuck E. Cheese, this isn’t new money generated by the stadium. It is just entertainment dollars spent somewhere else.
In any given population there is a finite amount of money to be spent. Adding more choices, doesn’t increase the amount spent. Trust us, with personal savings in the negative, consumers aren’t hoarding cash just so they can spend it at a new designer store in town. Nor will a multitude of monied Sacramento and Bay Area denizens be making a special trip to visit stores they already have. Increases in sales figures have more to do with population growth and economic conditions than choice (especially in a market this size). If those elements are positive, a company is going to move in no matter what because of the profit motive.
The other factor is just plain old fairness. Why should Cabela’s, Legend’s, etc. be allowed to retain sales tax for their own expenditures when it is illegal for every other business in Nevada? This is equivalent to a 5.5% price advantage for STAR projects. An advantage that, safe to say, probably isn’t passed along to consumers.
How do you think small business owners like Todd and Jeanine Morgan, who have sunk everything into running Big Apple Pizza and Subs (and were featured in a Sunday RGJ article on how local restaurants are suffering), feel turning over every cent of sales tax when a huge corporation gets to use three-quarters of it for themselves? Or the Sportsman’s Warehouse on Kietzke that played by the rules.
Finally, there is the other economic benefit that is always touted — job creation. While true, there will be hundreds of new jobs with these projects, what kind are we really talking about? It’s not manufacturing, skilled services or professional salaries, it’s that low man on the totem pole — retail sales. Twenty hours a week at $8.50 per isn’t going to put someone in a Reno house or make a hill of beans in the region’s overall economic outlook. Plus, one needs to factor in any possible job losses by like businesses unable to compete with the special STAR treatment.
Yet somehow with our roads crumbling, budgets exploding and revenues dropping the good folks in our government see fit to say goodbye to millions of sales tax dollars (which area consumers still have to pay) all so the Truckee Meadows can have another Chili’s, Lane Bryant and Sunglass Station (yes, those are actual Legend’s tenants). But, hey, there will be a Hot Dog Hall of Fame.
CAC Meeting Update
Lots of goodies packed into this meeting, including updates on 10 North Virginia, the urban market, the Truckee River Bridge Envisioning Project, Baseball Stadium, Entertainment District, and more.
Continue reading postSmile, You’re Subsidizing TRPA’s Power Bill
It’s hardly news that the average Joe tends to get the shaft while special interests get, well, special treatment. But when the average Joe has to foot the bill for someone else, who can well afford it, that’s something else.
Monday’s Reno Gazette-Journal was especially rich with irony on a pair of stories regarding the cost of energy. First you had a front-page article on the pinch many customers are feeling these days in making their monthly payments to Sierra Pacific. A pinch that will only get a little harder if a proposed 16% increase in electricity rates is approved.
So after sympathizing with the woes of people facing the prospect of their lights being turned off, we flipped the page and found the following gem — Tahoe Regional Planning Agency goes green with solar energy.
And while the article is horribly written (Is the TRPA selling some of this power back on the grid or is it just supplying a portion of its own needs? And, if so, how much?), your first reaction is “good for them.” Until, of course, you read the rest of the story.
You see, despite the solar panels allegedly saving the agency over half a million dollars ($540K to be exact) in the next 30 years, they aren’t paying full freight on the project. Heck, they aren’t even paying half the $270,000 it will cost. No, their part of the bill is just $120K. Sierra Pacific is giving the agency a whopping $150K rebate. A rebate that, naturally, you, I and the poor slobs in the first story are paying for.
And if that’s not enough, the TRPA was also given a reduced, and locked in for three decades(!), rate of just 7 cents a KW instead of the 12 everybody else currently pays. (Although, in fairness, the article is so poorly constructed we can’t tell if this is for all the power they use or if it is a part of the rebate, which we don’t think, or whatever.)
So next time you pay your Sierra Pacific bill, if you are able, just remember that thanks to you TRPA is paying a hell of a lot less.
Downtown Walk
Vertical construction begins on Townhomes at Holcomb Place, downtown shots, Montage construction.
Continue reading postApril Median Prices and Units Sold
A 31% increase in the month-over-month number of homes sold in April stands out as the big news this month. I, as well as many agents in my office, can attest to the increase in client activity lately. These numbers seem to support our perception.
The median sold price also increased for April, with a noteworthy […]
Preliminary April Numbers
Just a little taste of what happened last month… 336 homes sold at an average $310,925 after 151 days on the market. 4,269 still for sale. The median price was at $263,169. Remember, I include manufactured home classifed as real property. The detailed report should be done soon.
Continue reading postJohn McCain Sought Hagee’s Endorsement
Let’s see Hagee in action on CNN Anderson Cooper. Talk about extremist. It’s time to be fair.
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