Downtown Reno value slipping

Thursday, April 16, 1998 | 11:23 a.m.

The revelation "should serve as a wakeup call to downtown casino owners," said Robert Barone, chairman of Comstock Bank. "They need to put on a united front and get the political power behind them and start to make things happen."

Reno's figures are abstracted in Thursday's Reno Gazette-Journal from tax rolls which value the area encompassed by the Reno downtown redevelopment district at $385 million. That translates to a taxable total of $1.1 billion, which assessors define as the market value of land and buildings after depreciation.

The $385 million is $17 million less than the current amount, reflecting properties that are shuttered and ones which have received reduced valuation along with the few that have appreciated.

The Sands Regency, for example, will drop to $28.6 million next fiscal year. It was valued at $63.58 million three years ago.

The dark Harolds Club was reduced by more than half from its $19.8 million valuation two years ago to $8.6 million for the coming fiscal year. The Virginian's $6 million reflects its purchase price. It currently is valued at $12.2 million.

"The Virginian sold for half what it cost to build. Harolds Club is closed," said Steve Churchfield, a senior appraiser with the assessor's office who has studied the downtown area for years.

"The Horseshoe-Silver Spur is now a pawn shop and a liquor store. It's a pretty sad testimony to the casino business any more."

But some gaming executives still see Reno's economic glass as being half full.

Gary Carano, general manager of the Silver Legacy, said Reno still shows a steady cash flow from its hotels, while Las Vegas frets about a drop in airline passengers at the same time the city is adding 20,000 more rooms.

"We are hearing from our bankers and Wall Street friends that Reno has a somewhat positive image," he said.

Still, appraisers agree the tax roll for downtown Reno will be less next year, continuing a steady decline that began in 1995, the Gazette-Journal reported.

Since the 1995-96 appraisal, the assessor's office has cut the taxable values of five downtown casinos by $54.9 million, including $37.7 million for the current year.

Things could see another downturn a year from now when all of downtown Reno will be reappraised, as is required every five years.

"South of the railroad tracks, values are dropping," Churchfield said. "Some of the gaming revenues are off. Some of the casinos north of the tracks will probably be in to talk to us next year."