Reno council OKs plan for downtown
RENO -- The Reno City Council is moving ahead with plans to buy the downtown U.S. Post Office for conversion into an emporium with shops and restaurants.
Council members on Wednesday approved a plan to buy the post office for $3.2 million and to acquire a new downtown post office site for about $1.2 million.
The city long has viewed the purchase of the 75-year-old art deco building along the Truckee River as a major part of its downtown revitalization efforts.
The deal, expected to be finalized by June, would be financed with a $5.5 million city bond sales issue backed by federal community block grant money.
About $1 million would be left over to rehabilitate the post office, and grants would be sought to finish the job, city redevelopment administrator Mark Lewis said.
