Recent Press
Capital city could focus on becoming region's boutique center
Reno Gazette-Journal
SEPTEMBER 12, 2008
Come early, stay late. Carson City loves company! By spring of 2009, the Carson City Freeway will connect to Fairview Drive and create a ring road around downtown.
Carson Street will become less clogged with heavy, noisy truck and pass-through traffic.
In anticipation of the change in downtown traffic patterns, vigorous planning efforts are well underway which dovetail strategic business and tourism development.
This will impact not only the downtown but all of town.
In January, the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau and Carson City Office of Business Development jointly commissioned a study of downtown tourism development.
The study was led by the award-winning and nationally recognized Seattle, Washington-based Destination Development, Inc. CEO Roger Brooks sees opportunity in Carson City to attract affluent and well-educated travelers through a visitor experience that provides shopping and dining in an authentic, pedestrian-friendly, locals-used downtown -- the number one tourist activity in America.
In Brooks' 2008 Branding, Development & Marketing Action Plan, first step recommendations caution to "be certain you deliver on the brand promise."
Brooks explains that Carson City's downtown redevelopment vision that widens sidewalks allowing for street life activities and focuses on boutique retailers, public plazas, arts, culture and civic institutions, is the correct path to create a front door that, in turn, will offer great economic value throughout the community.
As a capital city with year-round visitors, we're home to a college (with a NASA-partnered observatory) and a state-of-the-art, award-winning regional medical center.
We're rich in art, culture and history. We have the state's largest historic district.
We tax ourselves for open space and recreation. We have night sky ordinances.
We have sensible building height requirements to protect our vistas and we have not been totally ruined by sprawl.
Our quality of life amenities already offer citizens enormous return on investment.
Continued support of and efforts to add to the broad range of restaurants in our historic, authentic, charming downtown will set in motion opportunities to attract complimentary retail like kitchen shops, home décor, ethnic and gourmet foods, wines, organically grown foods, boutique antiques, boutique apparel, children's stores and specialty shops, to name a few.
Plus, focusing on adult cooking class-type businesses like winemaking, brewing, cooking and baking, while at the same time fostering our high school culinary program and potential college degree programs all tie together in supporting the hospitality industry and create brand sustainability.
Becoming the boutique center of the region, Nevada's capital city stands to be like no other and our downtown, finally free of the confines of an interstate barreling through the middle, can forward a vision for tomorrow from the treasures of today.
What kind of real support is there for this?
Implementation requires meaningful action. And meaningful action requires structure, a sensible order to how we progress, one step at a time.
The statewide components of our vision will be catalyzed and coordinated through local and state leadership and the Downtown Carson City Institutional Alliance.
Similarly, the Downtown Carson City Consortium will lead neighborhood commercial and civic implementation efforts.
Successful implementation for both organizational levels will require the pro-active partnership and leadership of many other public and private entities and organizations.
Go to Downtown Answers at www.downtownanswers.com to learn more and stay updated on the latest news and developments.
Tammy Westergard is deputy manager of the Carson City Office of Business Development and the Downtown Consortium Action Group manager. Questions and feedback are welcome by e-mailingtwestergard@ci.carson-city.nv.us.
