The already left to rot Lear Theater has lost its remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds for its revitalization.
The Council had dedicated $1 million in ARPA funding last year for the iconic landmark nestled between West 1st Street and Riverside Drive, and patted themselves on the back for being saviors.
Over $170,000 did get spent from the Covid-era federal funds to prepare paperwork for the repairs and improvement but now a deadline has passed to find a bidder to actually do the work.
A City of Reno page dedicated to the Lear Theater is still full of promises for 2024: https://www.reno.gov/community/arts-culture/historic-preservation-copy
But at a City Council meeting Wednesday, the remaining Lear funds were divided up for other projects, from more downtown garbage cans to paying a payroll system consultant.
Just a few weeks ago, with no work started, some of its chain link fencing was stolen, costing the City thousands of dollars to just keep it fully fenced off.
The Lear Theater has seen many promises since the early 2000s with different projects going nowhere.
Activists have called for the 1939 building to be a center of local Black culture as it was designed by the iconic Black architect Paul Revere Williams.