Well, there’s no movement on the Cal-Neva, though Boulder Bay does move along slowly.
As for the light of day, it’s hard to say.
The Cal-Neva in Crystal Bay, Nevada, on the north shore of Lake Tahoe is one of the area’s most iconic resorts. Or it was, while it was open. It also has a long and checkered history since it opened in 1926.
Most recently, Criswell-Radovan, a California-based developer, bought the Cal-Neva in April 2013 with ambitious plans to renovate the aging property.
Criswell Radovan closed it five months later, announcing that it would invest $49 million in rebuilding the 10-story hotel tower, renovating the bar and restaurant, installing a new pool and spa, and slimming down the casino to 6,000 square feet. Starwoods signed up to run the hotel. The completion date was originally scheduled for December 2014 to coincide with Frank Sinatra’s 99th birthday; Sinatra co-owned the Cal-Neva in the early ’60s (a fascinating story of its own).
But the developer eventually encountered financial difficulties. Work halted in December 2015. In February 2016, Criswell Radovan defaulted on a $6 million loan from Ladera Development, the secured creditor of the project. Ladera scheduled a foreclosure sale for April 20, 2016, then extended it to June 10, 2016, which prompted the developers to file for bankruptcy on that exact date.
In bankruptcy-court filings, Criswell Radovan listed debts of about $40 million, including $7 million to the lead contractor, Las Vegas-based Penta Building Group, with another $23.8 million needed to complete the renovation.
Optimistically, they declared that they expected new financing "in a month or two," with a new completion date six months later. However, that was nearly nine months ago -- and nothing has happened since, at least that we know of.
Still, it ain’t over ’til it’s over and Criswell-Radovan’s construction permit doesn’t expire until Oct. 15, 2018.
As for Boulder Bay, this is another ambitious project planned for the Tahoe Biltmore, across the main lake road from the Cal-Neva in Crystal Bay.
The Boulder Bay project was approved by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) in April 2011. When completed, it will pretty much replace the Tahoe Biltmore, another aging north lake hotel-casino. It’ll consist of an eight-building complex, a mix of hotel, condo, gaming, and commercial components.
According to the permit approved by TRPA, Boulder Bay’s casino will be 10,000 square feet, a third the size of Tahoe’ Biltmore’s. The hotel will have 275 rooms. Sixty luxury condominiums and 24 "affordable housing" units are also in the plans, with 12,000 square feet of retail, 9,000 square feet of restaurants, and a 530-space underground parking facility. In addition, Boulder Bay will retain nearly six acres of open space.
However, like the Cal-Neva, Boulder Bay ran into financial problems; the principals were unable to secure a loan. By early 2015, they owed a half-million in taxes to Washoe County and the property was scheduled to be auctioned in April unless the payments were met. In March 2015, Boulder Bay secured financing from an undisclosed private-equity investor and paid the back taxes.
Since then, a little progress has been made. The public 2.7-acre Sierra Park near the Biltmore was finished last summer; an additional acre will accommodate a hiking trail up the hill leading to a scenic overlook. Two water-quality projects (infiltration systems to protect Lake Tahoe water) have also been completed.
The next phase of construction is to build 18 condos adjacent to the park on the empty lot where the Tahoe Mariner Casino used to stand; a permit is pending that would require ground to be broken during the 2017 grading season (May 1-Oct. 15).
A timeline for the rest of the project is still under development. But unlike the Cal-Neva, Boulder Bay seems to be making steady, though slow, progress.
