Redevelopment in the Powning District: History or bunks? | Jerry Snyder

This opinion column was submitted by Jerry Snyder, a Reno-based artist and attorney.

The Powning Conservation District, as defined in the Nov. 7, 2012 Reno Historic Plan occupies the area between Arlington and Keystone to the East and West, and between Riverside and Second Street to the North and South. It is named for Christopher Columbus Powning, a 19th-century developer with a taste for impressive muttonchops and a marketing plan that was apparently based on boasting of the area’s “perfect sewerage.” Originally, the development provided modest craftsman bungalows for blue-collar families. The area currently includes a smattering of apartment buildings, including the four-story Truckee Terrace Apartments (formerly the Truckee River Lodge,) the aspirationally named Lear Theater, the McKinley Arts Center, some office buildings and a number of the original craftsman-style homes in states of repair ranging from decrepit to lifestyle magazine worthy.

Local developer Urban Lion has obtained a building permit for and commenced construction of a 34-unit apartment building on Riverside Drive on what was the parking lot adjacent to Hub Coffee Roasters. While this project was duly permitted, some residents of the neighborhood have raised objections. Historian Alicia Barber argues that the proposed apartment is incompatible with the historic character of the Powning District. Barber further argues that the project would likely not be approved under the current master plan — although she acknowledges that the project was duly approved under the master plan in effect when the project was permitted. Barber points out that a portion of the project is as high as four stories, and that the project footprint is significantly larger than other buildings in the immediate vicinity.

More:Apartment construction starts at Riverside Drive in Reno’s Powning District

Alicia Barber is a treasure. I appreciate and value her voice. But in this instance, I respectfully disagree.

First, the Powning Conservation District is already an architecturally diverse neighborhood. The Urban Lion project is half a block away from a large law office and a brutalist three-story cube of an office building. A couple of blocks away, at the corner of First and Ralston, is a four-story apartment complex of no particular architectural inspiration. The Lear Theater, while it is of both historical and architectural note, would never be mistaken for a craftsman bungalow. High-rise condominium towers flank the Powning District to the immediate east and west. This is hardly a living museum of early 20th-century architecture. In any event, the parking lot that this building will replace is hardly of much historic or architectural interest. I just don’t see the Urban Lion project radically altering the already eclectic character of the neighborhood.

Second, I think it is worth asking how much we value “historic character” to begin with. In the face of an ongoing housing shortage, is the somewhat dubious historic character of the Powning District more valuable than housing for 34 families? Will the idyllic pastoral grace of the Truckee Terrace Apartments be so blemished by this project that it should prevent dozens of people from having the homes currently under construction?

As Barber has elsewhere argued, higher density projects in the urban core are preferable to sprawl. Infill development requires less infrastructure than large projects in the outskirts. When people live in the part of the city where they work and see art and go to bars, the city is a more vital and dynamic place.

Local governments don’t get to tell developers what projects to build. They can’t wave a wand and put the kind of housing they want wherever they want it. All the City and County can do is look at a project that a developer wants to build and decide (within the bounds of a complex legal framework) whether or not to permit that project. If we want more housing, the City has to permit housing projects. If we want higher density infill projects near the urban core, the City has to permit new buildings in neighborhoods already full of old buildings.

From where I sit, the Urban Lion project satisfies many of the goals of good urban planning while doing very little real harm to the historic character of the Powning District. I look forward to seeing it built.

A fifth-generation Nevadan, Jerry grew up on a ranch in Mason Valley. After displaying both a penchant for argument and an astonishing lack of natural ability at agricultural tasks, Jerry attended law school. He currently is a commercial litigator by day, a notorious bon vivant come nightfall, and an experienced leader of abstractly defined, multifaceted adventures. 

Join the conversation:How to submit an opinion column or letter to the editor