A real estate developer may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think, ‘art friendly business’. However, Tilio Lagatta of Blackfire Real Estate Investors wants to change that by marrying his redevelopment projects with sculpture installations, to improve business and enhance the sites. He said the works shift how people view and treat his properties.

At a recent luncheon put on by EDAWN, developer Tilio Lagatta was granted the Developer Award due to his efforts incorporating sculptures in his redevelopment projects. Credit Holly Hutchings

“If they understand the love and soul that went into the project and what they look at every day that ends up permeating,” Lagatta said. “Art creates a sense of space and belonging. With a sense of space and belonging comes pride in ownership, both of the tenants and the community. So, the occurrence of graffiti [and] the number of times you have disturbances at the property– those definitely go down.”

Lagatta said incorporating art has been historically difficult for businesses like his because of the lack of returns. His company adorned one project with a towering 25-foot rebar tree. Another property has creeping metal vines, peppered with glass leaves climbing up an outdoor patio. Does the art equate to more tenants and tangible benefits? He’s not sure.

“It’s usually really hard to draw that direct line to the bottom line,” Lagatta said. “From a purely economics standpoint, it’s hard to tie any one thing to them, but I do believe if it creates a sense of space and belonging and over some period of time our properties will see a return from it.”

“The Living Tree” is a permanent addition at 63 Keystone, one of Lagatta’s properties. Designed by Josh Vail, it is 20-feet tall and made of rebar. Credit Holly Hutchings

Mike Kazmierski is the president of EDAWN, the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada. He said that intangible benefits of an arts and culture-focused area do drive economic benefits, namely from an attracting talent perspective.

“They want a place that’s vibrant that they can enjoy,” Kazmierski said. “So, promoting arts and culture and raising the awareness of what we have, so that as companies say, ‘Do the employees I want to attract want to live here?’ If we can answer that question yes, it’s much easier to get them to decide to come here.”

He said that art means businesses and that the overall area thrives when companies choose to plant themselves here.

The sale, was initiated through Capstak’s Haves & Wants platform leveraging its proprietary matching algorithms. Andie Wilson, principal broker at NAI Alliance, was dynamically connected with the project listed on Capstak, represented by Senior Vice President/Executive Managing Director of Colliers International, Melissa Molyneaux.

“With Capstak, we were able to come to terms on an ideal property for my 1031 exchange buyer, before the property hit the open market,” said Wilson in a press release.

The transaction closed in less than 90 days from the date it went into contract. Wilson represented the Los Angeles based buyer and Molyneaux represented the Reno, Nevada based seller, Isbell Properties, LLC.

The Deal of the Year award recognizes CREW members and sponsors who network together for a commercial real estate deal. CREW members Ashley Young, Andie Wilson, Brad Bonkowski, Cheryl Evans, Melissa Molyneaux, Brittany Diehl, Rebecca Rich, Luann Barnes and Denise Barcomb were involved in the sale of 639 Isbell Rd.

• “Hand In The Mirror” – Burning Man 2013
• “Where Am I” – Nadadada 2013
• “Nails the Contraption” – Burning Man 2014 & 2015, Reno Sculpture Festival and TedX Reno
• “Good Luck” – Burning Man 2016
• “Quality of Life” – Burning Man 2016
• “Living Tree @ 63” – Commissioned and dedicated May 5th 2016, Reno Sculpture Fest 2016 & Burning Man 2016

ABOUT LIVING TREE @ 63

Union Phi was commissioned to create a permanently installed large scale sculpture at 63 Keystone Avenue in Reno Nevada in early 2016. After being approached by a local business owner at TedX Reno in Octiober 2015, Union Phi proposed a concept for a 20? metal rebar tree sculpture to this perspective client. “Living Tree @ 63” is an original twenty foot tall metal rebar tree sculpture with 1000 hand crafted wire leaves that will adorn the sculpture. A solid formed concrete base will anchor and “root”this tree into the site honoring the surrounding natural living systems. By utilizing pre and post-consumer recycled materials this “living tree” will not require additional natural resources to maintain. This sculpture will be fabricated by following the principles of Fractal Geometry and utilizing structural and aesthetic relationships to numerical proportions of threes (example:3 branches with 3 bends with 3 leaves at each bend). “189” total vertical #3, #6 & #9 rebar strands (proportional thirds) will protrude from the concrete base with rebar “roots” vining through the site and building elements relating to the surrounding natural and built environment. Living Tree @ 63 and it’s commission is a direct result of the collaborative efforts of Aric Shapiro and Union Phi. After Union Phi was featured at the inaugural year of Reno Sculpture Fest in 2015, Aric Shapiro continued to promote and support the Union Phi collective and coordinated our participation at TedX Reno where we connected with our client. Living Tree @ 63 will be dedicated during Reno Sculpture Fest 2016. This sculpture will stand as a testament to the fortitude, dedication and vision of the collective.

Blackfire Real Estate Investors is renovating offices and adding a restaurant to a commercial building located at 2995 Skyline Blvd. The building is approximately 8,000 square feet with 3,500 square feet of new restaurant space on the first floor and approximately 4,500 square feet of office space on the second floor. They have renamed the project The View.

“We were really excited about this project because we felt it was an opportunity to create significant change in the neighborhood,” Tilio Lagatta, managing member of Blackfire Real Estate Investors, said.

He envisions it as a place for people to congregate for coffee in the morning and a place for people to get a glass of wine and a bite to eat in the evening.

“I would like it to be a neighborhood hangout,” Lagatta said.

The building had previously been home to Skyline Marketplace, a market and gas station. Blackfire Real Estate Investors purchased the property in January 2017. According to the Washoe County Assessor’s Office, the property sold for $485,000.

According to Lagatta, he had already met with several existing restaurateurs in the area but had not found the right tenant at the time of the interview.

“We are trying to find the right idea and vision that aligns with ours,” he said.

The upstairs office space is also ready for tenants. Group West Inc. is the general contractor on the project.

“And this is why we call it The View,” Lagatta said referencing the view of the city, mountains and trees from the second-floor offices during a tour of the building.

Lagatta said that he hopes to do similar redevelopment projects in the future.

“This is one of what we hope to be more of a creative path of redevelopment and reuse projects,” he said.

With the economic growth in northern Nevada and the continual announcements of new companies settling in the region “we are very optimistic about what that is going to do in the near and long term prospects for Reno,” Lagatta said.

Blackfire Real Estate Services signs lease with Spheric Agency for 1,216 square feet at 63 Keystone Avenue in Reno, Nevada. Spheric Agency is a Branding, Strategy, and Marketing firm that is currently growing in the market. Blackfire Real Estate Services was represented by Colliers International, and a thank you to Ian Cochran of SVN for representing Spheric Agency. Learn more about Spheric Agency at https://spheric.agency/

Blackfire Real Estate Services signs lease with PMI Property Management for 570 square feet at 63 Keystone Avenue in Reno, Nevada. PMI is a property management group based in Northern Nevada, hoping to expand their market presence in coming years within the Northern Nevada area. Blackfire Real Estate Services was represented by Colliers International. Learn more about PMI Property Management at www.propertymanagementinc.com