Douglas jumps off Bently bandwagon, county opts for Minden Inn offices

Friday, May 8, 1998 | 10:55 a.m.

The move Thursday solves problems with a lease at the Inn that would have ended in August, forcing the county to find new housing for about a quarter of its offices.

"Perfect it isn't for Douglas County," Commissioner Jacques Etchegoyhen said of the Inn. "Pragmatic it is."

The purchase will also give the county time to develop a master plan for downtown Minden that would incorporate the Bently Nevada site if county leaders decide they want to put an office complex there after all.

The new direction comes four months after the commission picked the Bently property, located across Buckeye Road from the current law enforcement building, as its top choice for a central county complex.

Bently had offered 6.2 acres and a new 50,000-square-foot building built to county standards for $6.7 million.

Postponing those plans means county offices will remain spread throughout downtown Minden, but commissioners said that's best for now.

The Minden Inn option was previously ruled out because its owner wanted $3.1 million for the building but it was only appraised at $2.7 million.

Thursday's change of heart came because the asking price on the Minden Inn has dropped.