By james art 
Reno’s Sundance Books and Music Store closes forever on May 31, 2024.
Listen from customers as they share their thoughts about the closure of Reno’s Sundance’s books and music stores during the last day of business on May 31, 2024.
The stage on the stage of the small business of Reno, Sundance Books and Music has served in Northern Nevada for 36 years in the magnificent Levy mansion before closed last year.
Now the nationally recognized historical estate of Avenue California is available for a new tenant. Its owner, the Museum of Arts in Nevada, is looking for the right business or organization to fill the space.
What next for the former Sundance Books building?
David B. Walker, the Executive Director of the Nevada Art Museum, said the museum worked closely with Sundden owner Christine Kelly, “when he decides to retire to see if we can help identify a buyer for the business” And keep Sundance Books alive.
“After all, this was not possible,” Walker said. “There really was no one who had this type or experience in managing a high quality independent bookstore.”
The museum is looking for a tenant oriented to a culture or community
The Nevada Museum of Art is now underway with Plan B, which has conversations with non -profit organizations and organizations that are interested in being adjacent to the museum. In particular, organizations that are interested in “more forward in the community and space where they could do public programming” while having an office space, Walker said.
Walker would not say which organizations they were talking to.
The museum gives priority to the leasing of the building of an organization, which is interested in being part of the Retail Community on pedestrians of Avenue California. In part, this is due to the fact that the enlargement of the museum, which will be completed in early June, will include southern entrance with a bookstore and access to the extended public research library of the museum. The museum wants the new tenant to complement this space.
“We really want to make a more intentional connection between the California Avenue neighborhood, as it meets Virginia (street) and becomes Midtown,” Walker said.
Dickson Commercial Realty helps the Museum of Arts to find this type of tenant. The rent can also be flexible because the Museum of Arts in Nevada owns it.
“It is more important for us to have a neighbor who is part of the cultural energy we are trying to grow in this area,” Walker said.
In addition to non -profit organizations and organizations, traditional businesses also view space.
Historical designation brings challenges to leasing
One obstacle of potential tenants is that the Levy mansion is in the national register of historical places, which carries additional provisions and restrictions on what can be done for the building.
So far, said Walker, the mansion is used for storage and office space for general contractors working to expand the museum. Contractors also use the parking lot so that it does not interpret the parking of the museum.
“So we are not in a hurry, but we hope … by June we will have someone there,” Walker said. “Someone who loves to be in a bizarre building of many character and maybe a few ghosts.”