Oddie Boulevard is continuing to renovate as it was announced that a former skilled nursing facility on Oddie Boulevard will be transformed into a 59-unit apartment complex called The Hub@Oddie.
The new Hub is an environmentally sensitive development that will keep most of its major structural components while integrating modern, independent amenities into its living spaces that renters in all levels of society can enjoy.
The biggest change in this redesign is that all apartments will have their own full kitchens, but renters will also be able to enjoy semi-private patios, high speed internet, and have pets. This converted skilled nursing facility will keep its access to shared community courtyards and a garden while also integrating a laundry facility, dog washing station, business center, and fitness room.
The Hub@Oddie also has an added benefit for local restaurant and food entrepreneurs- hourly rental rates will be available to gain access to a 2,875-sq.-ft. commercial kitchen outfitted with private lockers, an industrial sized refrigerator, freezer, and dry storage as just some of the amenities available. The Hub@Oddie Owner Del Nordby is collaborating with renowned local chef Mark Estee (owner of Local Food Group that Great Basin Brewing Co. merged into) to help promote it.
“He’s been a great part of our team and has helped tremendously with managing the commercial kitchen side of it and what we need for that,” Nordby says.
The owners believe that reusing the existing structure and simply turning it into affordable workforce living reduces waste, fuel emissions, costs, and construction impact as well as less traffic disturbances.
“We’ve been looking for something we could do like this for quite a while in the Reno/Sparks area that’s an adaptive living development. This [1835 Oddie Boulevard property] was brought to us by our real estate broker and we closed on it in January 2021, but it was in contract for a year,” Nordby says.
“It gave us a lot of time to investigate the property and figure out what we needed to bring up to code. I think [the building] was built in the late seventies; we did a lot of asbestos removal and the electrical/plumbing had to be redone,” he adds.
The building had been vacant since 2018, but Del Nordby and his partner Robyn Mitchell are thrilled with the existing structure and possibilities that await.
“Our plan is to keep the structure of the building in place and within that shell create this cool apartment complex. I like the idea of adaptive reuse of a building and what that is. In reusing the existing structure, what we’ve saved in landfill in leaving what’s there, there, and not leveling it and starting over- it’s a significant savings in impact. I like the idea behind the creativeness in what goes into this adaptation,” Nordby says.
He explains that it being a former skilled nursing facility, the existing corridors in the winglike hallways allow a lot of natural light (although, according to its website adding to its low carbon footprint will be clerestory windows to be installed, which take up less space and allow natural bright light to filter into a building without overheating it) and it being a single-story sprawling complex with a lot of room to roam alludes to a healthier way of living.
The owners are also thrilled to be at the forefront of the entirety of Oddie Boulevard’s transformation.
“We’re pretty excited about The Oddie District; it’s another reason why we’re investing in this area,” Norby says.
“This area needs a lot of improvement and we’re super excited to be making progress and on schedule with this project,” Mitchell adds.
The Hub@Oddie broke ground on construction this past August and is planning to start leasing its studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments beginning spring 2022. Apartments average about 520 square feet in size with most of them being one-bedrooms. The entire building is 50,000 square feet. The spaces will rent for market-rate prices, whatever that is at the time.
The Hub@Oddie is designed by Resin Architecture, built by Solum Construction, developed by Lara Properties, funded by Heritage Bank, and owned by Del Nordby and Robyn Mitchell. For more information about the project, visit https://www.thehubatoddie.com/.
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