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Truckee Railyard project making way

Hannah Jones
hjones@sierrasun.com

Developers have made noticeable changes to the Truckee Railyard site this summer including the realignment of Donner Pass Road, a new downtown parking lot, installing a 54-inch underground pipe for sewage and a complete cleanup of the site.

Phase 1 of construction, made complete with construction of a roundabout which will divert traffic straight along the parking lot then north through the roundabout, will wrap up this fall, according to the project manager Jason Hansford. In addition they are currently placing all the overhead utilities underground.

“We’ve done a lot of heavy lifting in these chambers as far as getting a project to move forward,” Hansford said, referring to all aspects of the project including individual plans for the buildings.



In an agreement with Union Pacific Railroad, Hansford said they built a new 11,000 square foot maintenance building for the railroad company. Though the old building will be decommissioned and repurposed, the town has taken photos of it which will sit in the library of congress. Working with the Truckee Donner Railroad Society, they were able to find permanent homes for two historic pieces of rolling stock left at the site. Both the Rotary Blower and Steam Crane will now be part of a display operate by the Railroad Society.

“This site has been utilized for 150 years and there’s been a lot of activity going on there,” said Hansford. “So there’s a lot of cleanup.”



He said they are working to incorporate the heritage of the site with old blocks that were once a part of the Truckee Roundhouse. The blocks will sit over the original alignment of the tracks that once led into the roundhouse.

With the relocation of the rolling stock and decommissioning of the old Union Pacific maintenance building, focus can now be shifted to constructing the planned buildings.

Construction of the Artist Lofts, which will include 90 units of affordable housing, will break ground next summer and is expected to be completed in 2020, Hansford said. Construction will move forward with the space intended for Nugget Markets, though they have yet to find a new tenant.

“We are actively pursuing a grocery store tenant,” said Hansford. “We do think it’s very important to have a grocer downtown.”

Other components include the Truckee Art Haus, the Railhouse, which will house 46 hotel and condominium units and ground floor retail and the Art House Square with 22 studio units.

Hannah Jones is a reporter for the Sierra Sun. She can be reached at 530-550-2652 or hjones@sierasun.com.


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