Future looking bright for Mapes Hotel

RENO, Nev. - The once glamorous Mapes Hotel, which has stood vacant and shuttered for nearly 16 years, may shine yet once again.

City and redevelopment officials on Wednesday announced a $46 million plan to spare the 51-year-old downtown landmark from the wrecking ball and give it new life as a retail center and time share units.

"It is an understatement to say it looks like we have good news," Mayor Jeff Griffin said at a news conference announcing the deal. "The Mapes will be saved."

A crowd of supporters who have worked to preserve the Mapes cheered as the announcement was made.

Plans submitted by QM Corp. of Sparks and San Diego developer DDR OliverMcMillan call for the ground level to include retail shops and restaurants. The mezzanine level will be turned into a health club. Floors two through nine will be turned into 88 time share suites. The top floor, home of the once famous Sky Room, would include a cocktail lounge and convention facilities.

"We understand ... the importance of the Mapes, what the Mapes means to the city of Reno," said QM President Foster Mullen. "We feel we have a very viable plan."

Once complete, Mullen estimated the project would pump an additional $45 million annually into the local economy, and employ about 230 people.

The 12-story luxury hotel opened on Dec. 17, 1947, and became the place to see and be seen in the West. The window-walled Sky Room once attracted musicians, politicians, high rollers and Hollywood's elite: Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Tony Bennett and Clark Gable.

But it closed 35 years later, on Dec. 17, 1982, and has stood shuttered along the banks of the Truckee River ever since.

Earlier this year, it was named as one of the most endangered historic places in the country in an annual list by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

City officials have grappled for years on the hotel's fate, which was viewed by some as an eye sore and hinderance to the city's efforts to redevelopment the ailing downtown area.

DDR-OliverMcMillan was chosen by the City Council to develop downtown, including the Mapes site. But the San Diego firm said the building required $6 million in structural improvements to meet modern building and earthquake safety codes.

In the wake of public support for the old building, the council in June gave OliverMcMillan 90 days to work with other firms to come up with a plan to save the Mapes or it would be demolished.

That deadline was Wednesday, the same day the plan from OliverMcMillan and QM was submitted.

"This has been a long time coming for this old lady," said Mercedes de le Garza, one of the many Mapes supporters who turned out to hear the announcement. "I am happy to see the city is remembering its past and appreciates it."

A teary-eyed City Councilwoman Candice Pearce praised supporters for their efforts.

"There were many council meetings I never thought this would happen," she said. "If you hadn't raised hell, this building right now would be flat on the ground."

The design and financing plans will now be reviewed by city staff and brought before the Reno Redevelopment Agency for action in October or November.

Work is expected to begin next year, with a portion of the project ready to open in 2000. Remaining time share units would be completed by the end of 2001.

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