The unofficial word is that REI is coming to the 29th and Willamette mall, the one that hosts the new Market of Choice, Asada, Ben & Jerry’s, &…

Popularity: 23% [?]

Looks like it’s being sold by real estate brokers. A house they might have bought at a discount and updated. Price seems about average for this area. Definitely in starter home price range…hard to find those in the Ferry Street Bridge area.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Last night the Eugene City Council adopted an ordinance to move forward with amending the urban renewal plan. The changes will allow the city to use funds from the BEDI and brownfield grant and loan guarantee program to purchase properties for future development.

As usual, the Bettman-Taylor bureaucracy attempted to put a stop to any sort of progress when it comes to attacking the problems facing the urban renewal district downtown. Instead of debating the issue of what happens to the BEDI funds if the City DOESN’T allocate them to a project that purchases the pits downtown (use it or lose it?), this hearing became a debate about whether the KWG-Beam development is good for Eugene.

The term “obstructionist” came up a lot, moreso from both Bettman and Taylor in defending their positions that little development and no bold investment is better than a KWG-Beam plan.

Another complaint levied by Bettman and Taylor; that the debate is being stymied and manipulated by the City Manager’s office. Bettman implied this several times without actually saying it in a way that the City Manager could assertively challenge it.

Counselor Clark helped bring to light what should have been obvious to many who attended - that while tens of thousands of postcards were sent out by the planning and development office, only 22 citizens arrived at the hearing to debate the future of downtown. The public debate wasn’t being squelched by the City Manager’s office, on the contrary, it was being squelched by a great many people in Eugene who could care less about the future of downtown Eugene.

Bettman, to her credit, is very effective about holding the purse strings tight and staff accountable. I believe though that for her style of politics to work there needs to be stronger leadership from either the Mayor or other counselors to ensure that people who get things done for this city aren’t constantly put on the defensive. These are the only people who seem to want to accomplish big things for downtown Eugene. Also, somebody or some group needs to hold the counsel to the same standards of communication and leadership that Bettman demands of the city departments and manager.

The best part of the evening was when “Trix” did his usual standup routine about jumping into the pits and coming together for a great downtown. If he’s lucky he might become our next mayor..he sets his sites high every time he shows up, and delivers!

To see Trix in action, along the rest of the comments, you can watch the video here.

If you are a Eugene resident or involved in Eugene real estate I highly encourage you to get involved in this process. Downtown real estate may change forever in the coming 2-3 years.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Saturday, September 29th. That’s the official date, although it may change.

I get a lot of traffic to this blog from people searching for “pottery barn eugene” so it’s only fair that I share!

Popularity: 15% [?]

On Monday July 16th at 7:30, this Monday, the city council will discuss the BEDI grant application and amendment to the “1968 renewal plan.”

As discussed on this blog earlier in the year, the City has several million in Federal grants to draw from in order to secure funding for downtown development. This amendment would use some of those funds, as well as increase the cap on public indebtedness to finance the urban renewal plan to $73M from $33M.

This link shows the latest changes to the draft plan.

The challenge will be in how we ensure that the funds are well spent. To estimate costs, I went back to last year’s Parks and Rec bond measure and did some rough math. That measure costs the “median” homeowner about $60/year. That measure totaled $25.3M, mostly for park acquisition. Any measure designed to raise funds for downtown would need to mimic this, or at least prove in advance to the voters that the city will execute the plan effectively.

It’s one thing to raise money for parks, when the original parks bill was able to prove itself through tangible improvements in quality of life as well as a fancy new library. It’s another to raise money for a downtown that is caught between various interest groups, land owners, and developers. Somebody in the city needs to take charge of the situation in a way that brings everyone to the table, forcing them each to compromise without giving up too much. Strong leadership is needed here.

If the leadership exists to bring these groups to some sort of compromise, and people complain because they have been forced to compromise, so be it. People will always complain, especially in Eugene where there seem to be hordes of professional complainers (like this blogger? :). What’s important is that ten years from now, after floundering about w/o a real plan since 1968, we can look back and say that Eugene did something new and great with downtown. If a few people in City government can take credit for bullying the public and interest groups into compromising for something wise, they should jump at the chance. Even if they look like villains to the Eugene Weekly or any other politically powerful interest group.

Popularity: 7% [?]

I like this house a lot.

Any large craftsman on College Hill (and off Willamette) w/over 2k sq. ft. and under $500 is a house worth looking at. Not sure what to think of the stick-on wall-art or pink paint (actually..I hate it), but it’s just paint. Easy to cover. The paint on the outside is a nice neutral color.

The backyard is neatly trimmed. There isn’t a lot of lawn for kids to run around on, but a hottub, waterfall, and a nice fence make up for that.

What’s amazing is that according to Trulia, the price of this house is up 91% from the last sale price in July 2002. That’s Eugene! - 3.7/4.

Popularity: 11% [?]

This Marketwatch article discusses how sub-prime lending to minorities has led to much higher foreclosure and interest rates for minority borrowers, relative to Caucasian borrowers in the same economic position.

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has suggested that the FTC or HUD step in to manage a list of nationally recognized mortgage brokers. Obviously something that could have been handled via self-regulation two years ago!

Popularity: 10% [?]

This home has a small, but very tidy backyard. The interior has a nice look to it..it features a kitchen island with an open floorplan. Also, the windows bring a lot of light to the interior.

There is one picture of a bathroom, and it looks small. There appear to be 2 1/2 baths, where one would assume that the bathroom in the picture is the largest of the lot (or the agent decided to ignore this detail).

Even if the bathrooms are small, open kitchens and lots of counter space are far more important if you plan to live in a house for several years.

Back to the ratings system… 4/5. Not a showcase, but it has some assets that come together in a way that can be difficult to replicate via many of the homes currently for sale in Eugene.

Popularity: 14% [?]