A March 27, 2019, collision prompted an effort that will lead to the demolition of the Gardnerville Laundry near the S-Curve.
Nevada Highway Patrol photo
An agreement between the town and the various agencies involved with the eventual demolition of the Nishikida laundry building was approved by Gardnerville Town Board members on Tuesday.
Owner Dave Nishikida told town board members that he was onboard with tearing the building down, but that he felt out of the loop about the status of the project, which has been underway for a half-dozen years.
“If we approve this, that is going to keep the project moving, and will ultimately result in the removal of that building,” Town Board Chairman Bill Chernock asked Nishikida. “Is that acceptable to you?”
“Given the terms, absolutely,” Nishikida replied.
The building has a long history in Carson Valley, starting out as the East Fork School back in the 1880s. Nishikida said the structure near the Gardnerville S curve is actually two buildings, the school and a former livery stable.
It was moved from where it was built near Riverview and Highway 395 in the early part of the 20th Century and became a shop and then a laundry.
The Nishikidas took over the laundry just before World War II. It operated until 1989 around when on-street parking was removed from Highway 395.
The agreement approved on Tuesday only deals with whether the town will allow a historic sign on the Gardnerville Station property memorializing the laundry and its contribution to the Valley’s history.
However, the agreement is a step toward the building’s eventual demolition.
Nishikida said he last heard from someone about tearing the building down in November, but other than that he hasn’t heard anything.
The building was damaged in a collision that occurred in 2019 and was declared unsafe. Nishikida told the town board that it would have cost the family $1 million to bring it up to code and another $1 million to make it viable for a tenant.
“There was no way my brother and I could afford $2 million,” he said.
With the determination that there is lead paint and asbestos tiles in the building, it is eligible for Environmental Protection Agency funding under the Brownfield Grant program.
But that process has been extremely slow.
“Everyone had 30 days, and then the process starts all over, 30 days, 30 days, 30 days,” Nishikida said.
Even when the building is taken down, Nishikida and his brother Joe will still have to figure out what to do next.
“We can’t do much with the property, even when that old building is torn down,” he said. “No one is going to do small apartments or a business when they’re taking their lives in their hands trying to pull in and out onto Highway 395.”