The Reno Public Market sought to remake the Shoppers Square Mall in Reno, Nevada, with modernized facades, interior renovations and an open-air food hall connecting tenants and repositioning the site as a community gathering place.
The resulting emphasis on food and communal activity proved to be a draw for tenants and residents in the area. That's one reason the project at 299 E. Plumb Lane was named the 2023 CoStar Impact Award winner for redevelopment of the year by a panel of outside judges who are professionals in their field and familiar with Reno.
The central open food hall has 14 food vendors, a live music stage, video board and central bar. Those involved said the first few days of the soft opening drew more than 25,000 visitors to what was once a mostly empty retail shopping center in need of renovation.
When started, the project was less than 30% leased and the remaining tenants weren't charged market rent. After a $32 million renovation, the site is 85% leased and tenants are paying market rate for space there.
While the property, owned by Casazza Co., has a CVS pharmacy and a Sprouts market to provide steady corporate tenants, smaller local artisan retailers fill in some of the existing spaces adjacent to the food hall, while a local brewery and artisan clothing store occupy some larger spaces.
The project "took a blighted center and did a great job with redevelopment," said CoStar Impact Award Judge Chase Houston, senior vice president at Logic Commercial Real Estate.
About the project: Designed as a re-invigorated shuttered factory, the food hall is part of a collection of existing buildings with vendors who are on pace to more than double their original yearly financial projections. The design and construction team had to overcome challenges involved with an existing structure that had been expanded numerous times.
What the judges said: A "wildly impactful retail redevelopment for Northern Nevada," said CoStar Impact Award Judge Ben Galles, executive vice president at Logic Commercial Real Estate.
They made it happen: Doug Wiele, founder of Foothill Partners in El Dorado Hills, California.