Beverly Hillbilly property reverts back to Riverwood

There were no bids Wednesday at a public auction in Minden for about 16 acres of land tied to the proposed Beverly Hillbillies Mansion & Casino near the Carson-Douglas line.

Auctioneer Sue McGill said the land will be sold back to the beneficiary: Riverwood Partners, LLC, developers of the stalled commercial center between Topsy Lane and North Sunridge Drive.

Riverwood has a $24.7 million redevelopment agreement with Douglas County and had sold the land to Max Baer Productions, LTD., the trustor named in the sale. According to the notice of trustee's sale, Max Baer Productions owed an estimated $927,220.30 under a deed of trust dated Oct. 29, 2007.

Riverwood could not be reached for comment.

In 2007, "Beverly Hillbillies" star Max Baer Jr. acquired zoning changes for the proposed 270,000-square-foot hotel/casino. The project failed to materialize in the following years partially due to a lack of infrastructure to the casino property, which sits 1,100 feet from Highway 395 opposite Carson Valley Plaza.

Infrastructure was to be completed via Riverwood's redevelopment agreement. Grading improvements on a portion of the east-dipping Riverwood site began in the fall of 2008 but ceased shortly after.

To receive the first payment of redevelopment money, Riverwood developers must build 30,000 square feet of commercial space and lease 25,000 square feet, something yet to be accomplished.

According to the Douglas County Assessor's Web site, Jethro's Beverly Hillbilly Development owns three parcels of land, about 24 acres, on the east side of the Riverwood development.

Two of those parcels, totaling about 16 acres, were affected by the auction.

Since the early 1990s, Baer has attempted to build his casino in other locations, including Lake Tahoe, Park Lane Mall in Reno and the old Walmart building in south Carson City.

Also on Wednesday, a public auction for about 11 acres of the defunct Minden Gateway Center at the intersection of highways 88 and 395 was postponed until June 16.

Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bill Chernock attended the auction, along with some Minden town officials and the owners of the Holiday Inn Express, to see if there would be any movement with the property.

"It's obviously a key parcel in any number of ways," Chernock said Thursday. "It's important for Minden and the whole Valley to see a project move forward there."

Chernock said the ultimate goal is to have the right kind of mixed retail development at the site.

"It's going to take somebody with a little bit of capital," he said. "There are people with the expertise and the money to move forward on the piece if it becomes available for the right price."