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The centerpiece of the district is the creation of a $25 million, half-mile-long installation of public art along West Fourth Street, that will be known as Reno's Neon Line. Currently under construction, Reno's Neon Line will host rotating artwork, with the initial artwork of the series to include sculptures formerly exhibited at Burning Man.
* The vision is a cultural epicenter for the arts, entertainment, hospitality and lodging.
* Jacobs' goal is to create a streetscape that will change perceptions of what the downtown Reno experience entails
* According to Jacobs, The Reno Neon Line will be a half-mile long ribbon of color, light, sound, art, entertainment and experiences that will focus national attention on a revitalized urban environment
* They will add public space to the existing sidewalk (approx. 10-20 feet additional width)
* The Reno Neon Line will contain 8-10 sculptures over the course of two years. Five will be in place by the end of the summer and the remaining after that.
* The sculptures will be rotating - they are all leased. Every two years or so they will rotate out and new sculptures will be coming in.
* There will be a software brain - fiber connecting from Keystone to West Street - a lot of things with color and sound. A lot of interactive things are coming to the Reno Neon Line that will blend with the sculptures to make a really cool experience for the community and visitors, all controlled by a central computer system.
* One of the art pieces will be a "wind wall" - The surface of a façade will change intensity and color with intensity of winds coming in and out of Reno
The project includes 2,000 residential units, including an affordable housing component. The project is expected to take five to seven years to complete, but the first phase is already under way.
Jeffrey Jacobs, CEO of the Golden, Colo.-based company, is known in Reno for owning the Gold Dust West Casino and the Sands Regency Hotel Casino.
In Cleveland, Ohio, he developed the waterfront district known as the Nautica Entertainment Complex. The development attracts 2 million visitors a year.
"We want to create an environment where people who are sitting around the kitchen table in Sacramento on a Saturday morning say, 'Let's get in the car and drive to Reno and see this exciting new NEON LINE development,'" Jacobs told the Wall Street Journal.
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