Demolition of Lakeside underway at Stateline

Just clearing the former site of the Lakeside Inn and Casino at Stateline will take most of this year, a spokesman for Barton Memorial Hospital said on Thursday.

Barton Health President and CEO Dr. Clint Purvance told Douglas County commissioners that demolition and remediation of some environmental issues on the site will take the entire construction season at Lake Tahoe.

Barton purchased the casino, which was closed in the coronavirus outbreak and never reopened, May 4, 2021, for $13.3 million.

The sale included lots on the west side of Highway 50 that amounted to 7 acres of land, where demolition work started on Monday.

The hospital also purchased the Stateline Center on Kahle Drive for $1.6 million, according to the Recorder’s web site.

Purvance, who started out as an emergency room physician at Carson Valley Medical Center in Gardnerville, didn’t have any renderings to show commissioners on Thursday.

Carson Valley Medical Center started work on its expansion on Monday. Barton and Renown are partners in the Gardnerville hospital.

Purvance said that work will cost somewhere between $40-50 million.

He said the work at Stateline will open up the ability for Barton to provide more medical services.

Some of that expansion will help house a variety of independent physician practices that merged into the organization.

“As Barton expanded, it picked up private offices that were highly inefficient, though they were great for the neighborhood,” he said. “One of the biggest challenges though is staffing.”

He said the Lakeside property will allow Barton to take a two-campus approach at the Lake.

“Our big ask today is just to be included in your thoughts that might be tied to health care,” he said. “Overall that coordination of care will determine how we tie our services together. Douglas communities at Stateline and the Valley have very different needs and we want to address those needs.”

While work is underway at the Lakeside, Barton will be conducting a community health needs assessment to determine the best use of the property.

“We’re excited to have a large-acre site,” Purvance said.