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Cal Neva owners host Open House to update community on plans 

Kayla Anderson / Special to the Tribune

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – At 11:30 a.m. on May 21, a line was out the door and going down the stairs of Bowl Incline as people eagerly waited to get into the Cal Neva Open House. Inside, people had the opportunity to meet Revitalize Cal Neva project team members, learn more about the renovation of the historic property, and ask questions about its progress. Revitalize Cal Neva held two sessions that day; 88 people showed up for the morning session and 48 people came to the afternoon one.  

To a group of mostly fellow Crystal Bay neighbors, McWhinney Senior Vice President of Hospitality Development Jason Newcomer showed off the blueprints of the project, which will be a Proper Hotel. It includes a spa & fitness center, pool, cabins, pickleball courts, a renovated theater, and 216 hotel rooms/ “keys”. Fifty-two keys are in the Villas, which will be 11 structures with 38 units inside them (ideal for families and larger groups) along with 164 keys in the main hotel tower.  

The morning session had a line out of the door.
Provided Photo

“McWhinney is a long-term generational business; its founders are interested in restoring properties in destination areas that have historic significance,” says Newcomer. 



Along with that, around 150 families are ingrained in its investor base, and a few of those investors live in Lake Tahoe. When they heard that its previous owners were looking to sell, they contacted McWhinney which reinforced their interest in the Cal Neva property. McWhinney operates other Proper Hotel properties in downtown Austin, Texas, and Santa Monica.  

McWhinney acquired the 13-acre Cal Neva property in Crystal Bay, Nevada, back in April of 2023 and has held more than 80 meetings with community members and given at least 20 tours of the property since.  



“We’ve never encountered a property with so much of a community emotional connection,” he says. This is the first Proper Hotel property nestled in a neighborhood. 

“It is highly unusual to have commercial zoning adjacent to residential properties, but time has proven that if a project is successful then their property value goes up,” says Executive Vice President & CIO of Hospitality Dave Johnstone. 

Rendering of the Showroom.
Provided Photo

Originally built in 1926, the McWhinney leadership team’s focus is to upgrade and modernize the property and keep the original character of the historic Native American Room and Frank Sinatra Showroom. Newcomer says that they will be investing $5-$6 million in retrofitting the theater and want to bring back favorite community events like Star Follies and The Nutcracker.

Famous designer Kelly Wearstler who is known for her sleek, bold ideas, is working with Revitalize Cal Neva on its fresh look. Design mockups of the historic lodge include refinished weaved wooden interiors that are reminiscent of traditional Washoe woven willow basket designs.  

In the morning session, Cal Neva’s neighbors hovered around the plan, asking about the parking situation and voicing traffic/construction concerns. Newcomer indicated that a lot of that was still being fleshed out, but they are looking into shuttle systems, and micro transit bike programs, and would like to partner with local ski resorts to offer transportation in the winter.  

“We’re trying to keep traffic out of the neighborhoods by reconfiguring the parking lot,” Newcomer adds, saying that Cal Neva will have at least 200 parking spots and is working with Design Workshop on its landscaping to plant around 100 native trees to keep parking lot spaces and the perimeter of the property shaded and hidden.  

There will not be any direct access from the resort to the lake, but the McWhinney leadership team doesn’t mind. Its terraced pool area on the far west side of the resort overlooks the Big Blue with amenities close by.  

Attendees expressed concerns about parking and traffic.
Provided Photo

“We’re comfortable with not having lake access. The pool area creates an intimate experience with amazing views,” Newcomer said. He and Johnstone said that they want to create an atmosphere that makes guests never want to leave the resort.  

The revitalized Cal Neva will feature five food and beverage outlets, including a formal three-meal restaurant next to the casino and quick bites at the Circle Bar. As it gets closer to completion, Cal Neva will enlist the help of local chefs to curate its menus, which will then be run by Proper. Cal Neva will also bring back a casino with a mix of slot machines and table games, but they make it clear that it will not be a “casino-hotel.” 

“We want to celebrate the casino, but we just want it to be an amenity, for it to have a lounge feel and activate it during the day [for other uses],” Newcomer says.  

A lot of people shared stories of their Cal Neva experiences directly to Newcomer and online, and Newcomer admits that they keep pouring in. More than 800 people signed up on the revitalizecalneva.com website and have emailed them.  

During the morning Open House session, Reno resident Kitty Umbraco talked about the séance she attended held at the former Cal Neva theater. After the event, a photographer showed her some photos that he took and there was a lady sitting at the table who she doesn’t remember being there. A couple of months later, she was going through an old family photo album from the 1920s and there was a random colored Polaroid in it. “Who is this woman?” a family member asked. Umbraco didn’t know who she was, except that she was the same person in the séance photo.  

“I’ve been studying Cal Neva history ever since, trying to figure out who she is,” Umbraco said.  

Newcomer reiterates that the top three priorities of this project include: 1) historic preservation; 2) keeping it open to the public; and 3) providing hotel rooms.  

“We’ve lost 400 hotel rooms in Crystal Bay over the past decade,” he adds. Since the Tahoe Biltmore’s closure, there are no hotel rooms in the area.  

Attendees look at plans for the revitalized Cal Neva.
Provided Photo

This summer, the Revitalize Cal Neva team will be working on improving stormwater systems, doing utility upgrades, performing environmental analysis, and abatement of the property.  

They are currently doing structural reinforcement and repair, interweaving fire-resilient materials, and installing mechanical and life safety systems.

“This is the heart and soul of the property, and we’re going to keep it forever, so we have to do it right,” Newcomer says.  

He admitted that the old permits expired, but the team has completed the bulk of submissions to the TRPA, and it will go up for review and its public process this summer or early fall.  

“This is by far the most challenging project to entitle and improve,” Newcomer says, adding that they are relying on international, national, and local expertise to help guide them.  

When asked what makes this property different than other earlier owners who’ve struggled to see their plans through, Johnstone replies, “We’ve never put something under contract that didn’t close. This is a different model,” he adds, explaining that they are focused on making it strictly a historically preserved hotel with no mix of condos or anything else.  

Newcomer adds, “We have a track record with Proper Hotels. Our capital is families investing for generations, so it’s a little bit different. There are things we can control and things we can’t control, but we’re ‘cautiously optimistic’ about opening in 2026.”  

For more information about the Revitalize Cal Neva project, visit http://www.revitalizecalneva.com.  


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