What was proposed for Believe Plaza, and how did residents respond?
In June 2026, a downtown venue proposed leasing a city-owned lot at Believe Plaza. Residents discussed the plaza's existing uses, and the proposal was withdrawn on July 1 after a month of public discussion.
A Town Square Built From an Implosion
Believe Plaza sits on the footprint of the old Mapes Hotel, the downtown landmark the city imploded years before the plaza existed. What replaced it wasn't an accident. A 1995 Reno Redevelopment Agency report, "A Revitalization Strategy for the Downtown River Corridor," specifically called for that parcel to become an open public town square once the Mapes came down. Later planning documents, including the Virginia Street Placemaking study and the Truckee River Vision Plan, reinforced the same idea: public gatherings, art, music, street vendors, no fence.
That history mattered in June because it turned an abstract debate about a lease into a concrete argument about intent. The plaza wasn't leftover space waiting for someone to figure out what to do with it. It was designed, decades ago, to be exactly what it had become.
Activities at Believe Plaza
Activities and events at Believe Plaza include:
- Tuesdays bring Bike Night and Family Soup Mutual Aid, a volunteer group that has served free soup on the plaza on a standing weekly basis
- Every third Saturday, the Riverwalk Merchants Association runs its Wine Walk alongside "Rush the River," the district's monthly market for local, handmade, and Nevada-made food and goods
- Summer brings Dancing on the River, staged at Believe Plaza as part of the citywide Artown festival
- The Fourth of July draws crowds large enough that locals describe the plaza's energy that night as the clearest proof of what the space is for
- Large-scale civic gatherings, from Women's Marches to No Kings protests to community memorials, have used the plaza as their default assembly point
Together, these examples show the plaza's recurring weekly and monthly activities, seasonal events, and civic gatherings.
The Proposal for Believe Plaza
On June 5, The Eddy, a Sierra Street venue that has operated in the Riverwalk District for roughly a decade, submitted a Letter of Intent to the City of Reno proposing to lease Believe Plaza and an adjacent redevelopment parcel for one dollar a year. Co-owners Kurt Stitser and Phil Buckheart framed it as an investment offer: a privately managed public space, modeled on arrangements like Millennium Park in Chicago and Bryant Park in New York, that would add a music venue, a playground, and more food trucks while keeping the plaza open to the public.
The proposal kept the Believe sculpture and the nearby Space Whale in place. It promised continued access to the Truckee River and uninterrupted use of the Tahoe-Pyramid Bike Path, which runs through the site. The proposal also described the plaza as underused and under-invested.
The announcement prompted responses from residents and stakeholders, who raised concerns about community input and the use of downtown public space.
Public Discussion and Setback Concerns
The proposal drew public discussion over the following weeks. Commenters flagged that the proposed site plan appeared to conflict with the city's riverfront setback requirements. Residents also pointed out that Stitser holds a seat on the same redevelopment advisory board that reviewed his own proposal, and while he recused himself from the vote, he had already presented his case to the colleagues who would ultimately decide it, then remained in the room before and after. Some residents cited Nevada's conflict of interest statute, NRS 281A.400, arguing the arrangement fell short of a clean recusal even if it satisfied the letter of the rule.
On June 27, The Eddy responded by launching a dedicated website addressing what it called "myths and facts" about the relocation, again pointing to Millennium Park and Bryant Park as precedent for privately managed public land. Two days later, Fox Reno reported that Buckheart said the plan represented "a really 180 from what was on social media" and reiterated that free speech access to the plaza would never be removed.
By then, discussion included the plaza's existing uses and broader questions about how public land is managed. An op-ed on This Is Reno addressed those questions in the context of the proposal.
The Withdrawal, and What's Still on the Table
On July 1, Stitser formally withdrew the Letter of Intent, according to a City of Reno memorandum from City Manager Jackie Bryant. In a joint statement, Stitser and Buckheart said procedural and legal considerations had surfaced that needed to be resolved before the concept could move forward, and that they were stepping back from the plan in its current form.
The withdrawal left open the possibility of a proposal for the adjacent parcel. Bryant's memo noted that the adjacent Reno Redevelopment Agency lot, separate from Believe Plaza itself, isn't subject to the same code restrictions that tripped up the original proposal. Stitser retains the ability to submit a revised Letter of Intent for that neighboring site, which would then route through the Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board for another round of review.
What the Proposal Brought Into Focus
The episode drew attention to the activities at Believe Plaza, including recurring events, civic gatherings, and community services.
That's the detail worth carrying forward if you spend time in this neighborhood. The plaza's current uses include Tuesday soup service, third Saturday wine walks, Fourth of July gatherings, and a bike path that runs through the site.
If you're weighing what it actually means to live near downtown Reno's river corridor, this is the kind of detail that doesn't show up in a listing description. A neighborhood where residents gather for recurring events and community services is a neighborhood with a real civic pulse, not just a walkable address.
If you're considering a move to the Riverwalk District, Midtown, or another corner of Reno and want a guide who pays this close attention to the details that actually shape daily life here, Tiffany Billman would love to hear from you. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
