Coyote TV - High Desert Advocate

                For the second time in as many months, West Wendover’s old city hall stayed on the auction block without any bidders.
    Indeed the second proffering of a piece of prime city owned property did not even draw curiosity seekers.
    Up for auction for $200,000 under very generous terms the auction failed to attract any interest in the recession battered town.
    Apart from adding much needed cash to city coffers the auction could give a pretty clear sound on how West Wendover land is valued by potential developers.
    In the past year West Wendover development in West Wendover has been a mix of good news/bad news.
    On the good side was the construction of the Rusty Palms project north of I-80, the new $4 million project is now awaiting a permit from the Nevada Department of transportation to finish construction.
    On the bad side however there was the defaulted and foreclosure of the Silver Leaf project which put hundreds of acres of commercial and residential zoned property back on the market.
    In addition to the failure of Silver Leaf the indefinite post ponement of the Peppermill’s new casino may also effect property values.
    Added to local events the national Great Recession has dried up credit, and with a minimum asking price of $200,000 any purchase of the would almost have to be financed.
    For the past three public auctions of city owned property the Peppermill casino has been the only bidder but whether the local gaming giant has more appetite for West Wendover public property is an open question.
    Over the past three years the Peppermill purchased the land under the old city municipal court, fire station, West Wendover softball fields and the part of Wendover Boulevard the passes in front of its concert hall.
    All of those buys involved land directly adjacent to company owned property and involved part of the company’s now shelved expansions. West Wendover’s old city hall is located some two miles from the closest Peppermill property. And just whether the company wants to shell out another $200,000 could depend on how desperately it needs more office space.
    Apart from tearing down the building, its attractiveness to any potential bidder is office space. The question is there a demand was answered this Tuesday and the impact that there were no takers could have an impact far beyond the lack of interest in the auction itself.
    If the city has to re-value the property to unload it the revaluation itself could impact property values all over town.
    Despite the silver Leaf fore closure property values have stayed more or less the same in Wendover over the past year, despite the crash of property values in most other cities in Nevada last year.
    Thanks mostly to the Montego Bay’s Expansion and the Rusty Palms Development West Wendover’s total assessed property valuation grew by just under $5 million from last year, reported Elko County Assessor Katrinka Russell.
    According to City Clerk Anna Bartolome the building will probably be listed with a real estate broker however the price the building could bring may be considerably less than the $200,000 hoped for.
    In addition to its failure on the auction block twice, the coming foreclosure of the Red Garter could mean a drastic reduction in commercial property values in West Wendover.