Whitney Peak Hotel
| Whitney Peak Hotel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Former names | Fitzgeralds Casino & Hotel, CommRow |
| General information | |
| Address | 255 North Virginia Street |
| Town or city | Reno, Nevada |
| Country | United States |
| Completed | 1976 |
| Opening | 1976 |
| Renovated | 2013 |
| Owner | Reno Real Estate Ventures LLC/Convexity Holding LLC |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
The Whitney Peak Hotel is a non-gaming hotel in downtown Reno, Nevada, that previously operated as Fitzgeralds Hotel Casino & Hotel and CommRow.
History
Lincoln Fitzgerald, owner of the Nevada Club casino, began construction on a new 16-story, 347-room hotel and casino in 1974.[1] Fitzgeralds opened in May 1976, at a total cost of $16 million.[1]
After Fitzgerald's death in 1981, his widow, Meta, sold the property in 1986 to the Lincoln Management Company for $26.25 million.[1]
Fitzgerald's Reno was the last of 4 properties owned by Fitzgeralds Gaming to be sold after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2000. Prior to this, sister properties were located in Las Vegas, Tunica, Mississippi and Black Hawk, Colorado.
In 2005 Monarch Casino & Resort, owner of the Atlantis casino, attempted to acquire Fitzgeralds. In April 2007, L3 Development, a development firm based out of Chicago, Illinois, announced its intention to purchase the property and convert it into a boutique hotel.[2]
On November 1, 2007, ownership of the Fitzgeralds officially transferred to a joint partnership between L3 Development and RAC II LLC, marking the first time in decades that the property was under private ownership.
On October 1, 2008, Fitzgeralds announced its imminent closure in November, 2008. 470 employees were made redundant and the new ownership evaluated options for the property. The lower floors re-opened as CommRow on October 1, 2011 with the world's tallest climbing wall constructed on the exterior, CommRow was designated to have a hotel component but this never materialized and the business model as a whole, struggled.
Concepts were flipped almost constantly that the ownership decided to ditch the entire concept, except the climbing facilities, in January 2013. The new model, "Whitney Peak Hotel" was announced February 2013. The project will oversee the redesign of everything except the climbing wall and add 200+ hotel rooms, completely renovated. While the project is underway, the climbing facilities are remaining open.
A grand opening right now is slated for Spring of 2014.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kling, Dwayne (2010). The Rise Of The Biggest Little City: An Encyclopedic History Of Reno Gaming. University of Nevada Press. p. 50. ISBN 0-87417-829-0. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
- ↑ "Chicago development company agrees to buy aging Reno casino". April 7, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-12.
External links
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Coordinates: 39°31′41″N 119°48′50″W / 39.527959°N 119.813897°W