Imagine getting a letter on the door of where you’re sleeping saying the supposed luxury property where you’ve been living for months will now be abruptly closed in seven days?
Yet another example of sudden dehousing of vulnerable members of our community is currently happening in our downtown Reno area.
“We are writing to inform you that due to an exciting new renovation project, Reno Suites will be closing on Friday, March 21, 2025. This project will allow us to enhance our facilities and provide an even better experience for future guests,” is what the sixty or so residents at the 175 E. Second St. Reno Suites found on their doors on Thursday.
Residents there had been used to moving around already though, and it was a week to week arrangement to begin with, even though some had been staying there for months.
One part of the former Harrah’s Reno hotel-casino which received little attention until this week is the Reno Suites tower which was still open with shuffled around temporary residents. It's now being closed as the entire complex is being turned into a future Revival mixed use plan with North Carolina-based Madison Capital Group now at the helm of the often delayed project.
People staying there were considered guests rather than tenants, being asked to sign documents that it wasn’t their permanent residence, with no mail being received there either. They were supposed to be moved from one room to another before 28 days were up. Reno Suites was doing all this to avoid being classified as a short-term rental establishment, despite its advertisement for weekly rooms, which could be viewed as misleading, and some saying they stayed longer in their room.
Gryphon Private Wealth Management, the former majority owner of the beleaguered Reno City Center project, now remaining with a minority stake, had been in charge, while Madison Capital Group, previously present in a minority role, took over leadership of the Harrah’s revamp last month with a rebrand, a new name and its own new financing.