The refurbishing of an old parking garage into office space is attracting diverse tenants to the old Harrah’s parking garage these days. Indeed, the owners say the renovation is their commitment to downtown revitalization.

With new owners and a total remodel, this is no ordinary parking garage. In fact, the 15-story Waterfront Plaza, as it is called, is now a modern, well-kept office building that just happens to have a garage beneath it.

“Nobody knows there’s 140,000 square feet of office space,” says Mark Litman, a partner with Chris Croisdale in TRT, LLC, and the building’s new owner. “So what the Waterfront has to offer is not only the best parking downtown, but also the best floor plates in downtown on one floor.”

Privately owned, Litman says the building is funded by the partnership, a group of investors he says he’s been working with for 20 years. Currently, they own buildings in Southern California and previously had holdings in both Las Vegas and Hawaii.

Road to transformation

Not to be confused with the current Harrah’s casino parking garage, Waterfront Plaza, close to the Truckee River at 300 E. 2nd Street, once housed the casino’s corporate offices. However, when Harrah’s moved in the late 1980s, the building’s slide into disrepair may have reached the point of no return had Litman and Croisdale not come to its rescue.

The building once again emanates prosperity, with nearly $1 million spent to gut many of the offices and refurbish the common areas, lobbies, elevators, hallways as well as a total lighting update, new paint and restoration of the parking garage.

“The bones and structure of the building are as solid as any building I’ve ever seen,” Litman says. “Harrah’s built it to last hundreds of years.” With the remodel, the renovations have brought the building to Class B-plus status.

The project fits the model Litman and Croisdale have developed during their 15-year partnership. “It’s in an up-and-coming area,” says Litman. “We like to be ahead of the curve. After we bought, three other major buildings sold in downtown. Obviously, we believe in downtown revitalization and want to do everything we can to support it.”

Artown has signed a lease for the first floor. The space will house the nonprofit’s operations as well as space to hold special events. Strong supporters of Artown and its positive influence on the community, the partners offered a substantially reduced rate to the arts organization.

Leasing up

Vacancy sits at about 20 percent, but with the renovation close to completion, expectations are to lease up within six months. In the past six months, 10,000 square feet has been leased to new incoming tenants. Due to the abundance of parking, fiber connectivity and back- up power capabilities, the owners have three interested data center and call center users looking at spaces between 15,000 and 30,000 square feet.

Key to their success, says Litman, is the team’s affiliation with the leasing duo of Dominic Brunetti and Scott Shanks from Alliance Commercial.

“Our role,” says Brunetti, “is to find viable tenants for the building to fill the vacancy. We’re involved in the re-branding of the Harrah’s garage. You need to find creative ways to re-name it and to build a brand and a personality around Waterfront Plaza.”

Brunetti says besides affordable lease options, the building is a part of the revitalization of downtown and close to many amenities including restaurants, the new transit center and the downtown courthouses. }