Public to be offered look at latest V&T developments

The public is being offered a look this week at some of the multi-million dollar developments expected to spring up around the Virginia & Truckee Railway, including a museum, casino, shopping center and IMAX theater.

The presentation at Wednesday's planning commission meeting is intended to provide decision makers with an overall view of plans for the area south of Highway 50 East. The 18-mile rail will run between Carson City and Virginia City, and will include a terminal.

It is expected to attract 150,000 people each year.

"The V&T has been on everyone's minds for a long time. There's a ton of work to do," said Mark Kimbrough, a member of the planning commission. "You need that vision to have an idea of what people are talking about."

The train is expected to be ready to roll by 2010 and cost up to $40 million to complete. A 1.4-mile portion of the tracks were placed last fall.

Projects to be discussed Wednesday include the Chinese Workers Museum, Destination Nevada - a proposed multi-use development - and recreational opportunities being considered for the site.

Destination Nevada would contain a casino, lodging, retail and office spaces proposed to be east of the V&T Railway on 150 acres off Highway 50 East and Drako Way. Much of the land for this development is in escrow until October. Cost for this endeavor could reach $900 million.

The proposed $50 million Chinese Workers Museum will sit on what is now Bureau of Land Management property and abut Destination Nevada. Up to 500,000 visitors are projected to visit the museum annually.

Residents are welcome to watch the presentation, said Mayor Marv Teixeira, who sits on the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway.

"It was about time to bring everyone up to date on where the projects are," said Art Hannafin, architect and owner of Hannafin Design Associates and a co-director of the Chinese Workers Museum.

Hannafin also serves as the architect for Destination Nevada.

Also part of the discussion will be potential effects of the projects, which would change the area's job, economic, transportation, tourist and land-use pictures, Hannafin said.

The city is looking into creating a multi-use trail near the train and the Carson River is being eyed as a haven for outdoor enthusiasts.

As the projects roll along piecemeal during the next several years, several city advisory groups will be asked to make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors and, sometimes, make decisions on their own.

Listed as groups who could be involved with the projects include the planning, parks and recreation, historic resources and regional transportation commissions; open space, Carson River and redevelopment authority committees; and the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"It's great they're out there with the planning. It's kind of visionary," Kimbrough said. "I'm excited to see it on the agenda."

If you go

What: Carson City Planning

Commission meeting

When: 5:30 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Sierra Room, Community Center, 851 E. William St.

• Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.