Developers are bulldozing the vacant Reno Valley Retirement Center east of UNR. The project taking its place will cater to new tenants - students, instead of seniors.
The developer, 'Up Campus,' has plans for a five-story building with over 600 rooms for students.
Tyler Ammermann, development manager, said in an email that the project will break ground in spring 2023 and finish in time for the 2025-26 school year.
Officials with the City of Reno are hoping that the built-out project will fill student housing needs around campus.
“I think from a student housing perspective, we know there’s a need for student housing," said  Angela Fuss, assistant director of development services with the City of Reno.
She added that the project might become a welcome improvement to the neighborhood. The State of Nevada forced the retirement center to close in 2020 after finding multiple health violations. Less than a year later, the building caught fire, and crews had to evacuate two homeless people who had been squatting in the building.
“We have had some code enforcement issues over the years with this property. So, because a student housing developer bought it, from one perspective, that’s a good thing, is that now we have an infill project and something that supports the university," Fuss said
