Years ago I identified the Citibank building at 308 N. Curry as one of Carson City’s worst eyesores. Not that there weren’t uglier buildings around town, but its location at Curry and Telegraph, right in the middle of downtown and the historic district, was a particular affront. I called it out in 2007 as something that was particularly in need of renovation, and in 2008 I echoed the call of others to tear it down and build something better on the site. But that was before the economic downturn, which put a lot of potential projects on hold, and so the old Citibank had sat neglected and forgotten ever since then.

Until this year. Last year the plans to renovate the building saw new life. The Hop and Mae Adams Foundation started getting serious about remodeling it to include retail, residential and office space. Work started to strip the 50-year-old structure down to its bones, but the more they tore into it the more problems they ran into. Finally they made the decision that renovation was too much trouble, and it was time to tear it down instead. So in January they did just that.

Ever since January the site has sat empty. The basement of the building is still there, and the foundation, but the walls were demolished down to ground level. A groundbreaking was held last month, and concept art has been released, showing what the new building is going to look like. It sounds like they are committed to seeing this project through, so hopefully construction will start soon, and this corner can finally contribute to the beauty of Carson City.