Tag: mindengateway

It's been quite a while since I made it down to Minden to drive around and see some of the progress on a couple of projects going on down there. I went last week, and I was super surprised to see this.

This is the new Greater Nevada Credit Union building, being constructed right at the border between Gardnerville and Minden. GNCU has had a branch on this site for nearly 20 years, in an old office building that used to be there. They tore it down last year so they could build something new. I wasn't expecting it to look quite this striking. I like it now, but check back in 30 years and see if it's become outdated.

I also cruised by the location of the new Minden Gateway Center, to find that they're well into the job of moving dirt around, getting ready to start construction. This land at the corner of Hwy 395 and Hwy 88 will soon be home to a retail development and a hotel.

This project is still controversial, mostly because of how close the proposed hotel is to the condos that are right next door. In this last picture, you can see the condos, and how the construction site is right there.

The hotel is going to be located right about where that black fence is. You can see why the residents there would be upset. The matter, as far as I know, is still in court, but it hasn't stopped the developers from starting preliminary work on the center.

It seems some Minden residents aren't happy with the plans for the Minden Gateway Center commercial center, which would feature dining, shopping, and a three-story hotel at the corner of Hwys 395 and 88 at the north end of town. At issue specifically is the hotel, which under the current plans is practically being built in people's backyards, blocking their view of, well, everything, as well as giving hotel guests a direct view into their kitchens and bedrooms.

The hotel is in blue, green is a supermarket, red is a drug store.

It would be a shame to see the whole deal fall through just because of this, though. Hopefully the developer is open to making a few changes to make the neighbors happy. There have been plans tossed around for that intersection for decades now, but these newest ones are the first ones that really smell real to me. Long-timers will remember that for years there was a sign at the corner advertising "Coming Soon - Safeway!" The sign, I think, was even replaced with a newer one once, but Safeway never arrived. And across the street, next to where the Minden Medical Center now sits, there were plans for a large hotel/casino resort to anchor the north end of town and provide competition for CVI's customers. All of those projects fell though. The Minden Gateway has some momentum behind it right now, but this pushback from residents might slow it down a bit. Plus, there's the fact that the footings of the new Bully's Sports bar, which was being built next door to the new Arby's, have remained half-poured and neglected for months now, which makes me think even that small project died. Something big like the Minden Gateway might just be another failed project that we talk about five years from now, saying "remember when" as we look out over a weed-strewn empty lot.

Clearing the land for MGC, November 28, 2006.