(Guest Blogger Cam McNeeley)

It’s the BREW part II! Tonight…

Still confused about exactly what we did and didn’t vote for?! We are too!

Come to the BrewHaHa!

What happens next with Eugene’s downtown?

Hosted by Bus Project of Lane Co and Eugene Weekly

Date: Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: Davis’ Restaurant
94 w. broadway.

A monthly non-partisan, interactive, in your face political slam.

This month:
Since measure 20-134 was shot down, many community members have been wondering what’s next for the downtown pits.

Our October downtown debate pulled in more than 90 attendees.

This month we are not looking to have as much of a debate on the issue, but to instead have a community discussion on the next steps. We’ll be inviting 5-6 panelists in the hopes that they can shed some light on the project ahead.

Speaker invites include developers, local architects, U of O Professors, and possibly even a student who has been following the issue.

So come on down to DOWNTOWN and VOICE your opinion over a few PINTS!

Popularity: 35% [?]

We are one day away from finding out if Eugene is committed to investing in a Downtown that is a comfortable place for ALL citizens to enjoy, or if voters plan to stifle the planning and effort that has gone into this project in order to create more giant pits for us to make fun of. If it passes, I will miss that.

When you vote in the poll below make sure you vote for what you believe the outcome of measure 20-134 to be, not what you want the outcome to be. There is a difference.

May the masses demonstrate both wisdom and competency!

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Popularity: 38% [?]

There’s a rumor going around that Williams-Sonoma and/or a large shoe store will take over the block at 160 Oakway.

Williams-Sonoma stores are often found near PF Chang’s, so Williams-Sonoma does seem likely. According to KMTR, ground will break in Feb. 2008.

According to the Register-Guard, Bello Day Spa will move out to the impressive new Crescent Village in North Eugene.

Popularity: 31% [?]

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: 20% [?]

I love Eugene for the way its thought leaders in the local media provoke outrage..in the most laid back, passive-aggressive way imaginable. This can’t be called hypocrisy because hypocrisy requires a carefully constructed image of impermeable resoluteness, something Eugene is not exactly known for.

Or maybe it is. I don’t know..whatever you say man..

So that’s why this article in the Eugene Weekly really makes me laugh. Is there anything left to tap once the Eugene Weekly has tapped the public’s reservoir of rage towards those who have acquired or accomplished more than they? I feel exhausted after reading the Weekly sometimes, like I need a fresh IPA and some banter to bring me back to life.

In its latest, ongoing attempt to reshape public opinion about Downtown projects, the Eugene Weekly stereotypes KWG, the developer behind the most ambitious proposal for West Broadway yet, proposer of “The West End,” as a greedy developer out to bilk the taxpayers of Eugene out of $50 Million.

Does this city really lack the ability to look past stereotypes about developers and consider the facts?

• The best bid will win. Unlike Eugene’s elected leaders, developers and business people face real competition every day. They are not all a bunch of greedy local subsidy raiders. Yes they’re business people who expect a profit commensurate with risk. No they’re not TV caricatures of developers the way the Eugene Weekly likes to portray them. This isn’t The Dukes of Hazzard.
• West Broadway is embarrassing. Downtown is embarrassing. There’s nothing more that can be said here. Sure there are pockets of greatness downtown, but ask the majority of people who live downtown if they think it’s an ideal place to live and they’ll tell you the idealists are holding it hostage.
• About 1,000 construction jobs would be created for a period of about 18 months. Nevermind, Eugene doesn’t need jobs.
• All parking would be underground. That means another great place for the dropouts to smoke a joint or ten.
• Cost is estimated to be over $30M. This is NOT the City’s cost. And nowhere is it stated in the proposal that the City’s cost is $50 million. I challenge the Eugene Weekly to produce facts to support that price, net income from the project and $6M+ in grants from the Federal Brownfield Program.
• KWG is not proposing a “Mall-like Megaproject” as the Eugene Weekly calls it. That’s a complete suspension of the truth. This proposal looks nothing like a “mall” the way Oakway or Valley River Center are malls.

If KWG won the bid for some or all of West Broadway land for sale, 174 rental units over the grocery store (the one Eugene ran out of downtown once already?) would rent to households earning 60% of median income. For Eugene, that means about $29K for a family and $22K for an individual. This sure sounds like mixed-use to me.

KWG built a low income project in Downtown Vancouver called Esther Short Commons. The building won several design awards. Unfortunately, some of the liveability issues surrounding low income housing also leaves very little to the imagination. This isn’t KWG’s problem, this is the city of Vancouver’s problem. Just as it’s the City of Eugene’s problem.

KWG cannot solve the low income housing or downtown development problems for Eugene. Yet maybe if Eugene faced its reckless core more courageously, with more ambition and willingness to innovate, a developer would meet the City halfway.

Then someday the people of Eugene might be proud to say, like citizens of Portland can, that downtown is a fantastic place to live, work, and play.

Popularity: 21% [?]

This is a quote from the Hud.gov site, regarding the section 108 grant given to Eugene in 2005.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS: The city of Eugene, OR, will receive a BEDI grant of $2 million and a Section 108 Loan for $7,895,000 to fund a loan pool that will assist with financing, infrastructure, land acquisition and public facilities necessary to attract private investment to brownfield sites in the downtown area. Potential development partners include Whole Foods, Oregon Research Institute, McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center and an as yet unnamed developer of a multi-block mixed-use complex.

I think it’s worth noting here that two of four projects failed to materialize. Whole Foods pulled out. In part due to complaints from the community about “too many parking garages,” whatever that means, and a belief among others that the IHOP restaurant is an historical landmark. IHOP on Franklin is historical in the sense that it hasn’t been updated for decades. It’s not a historical landmark to most of Eugene however. That I am sure of.

McKenzie-Willamette is interested in the Delta Ridge site, but there appears to be a considerable amount of delay there. How the Delta area counts as a Brownfield is not clear, unless the original intent was to acquire the EWEB waterfront property. Also, since EWEB provides some of the best jobs in the City we can’t really call EWEB a brownfield either. Maybe it’s the “brown field” behind EWEB?

The fourth, “as yet unnamed developer of a multi-block mixed-use complex” is either Broadway Place or the broadway reopening.

What’s unclear is where the $6 Million in grants will eventually go.

These BEDI grants are designated for renewal projects but the city is sending its leaders to Washington to discuss ONLY sustainability issues. Nobody is opposed to sustainability, but the rhetoric of sustainability needs to include “economic sustainability” as well.

City Council minutes for April dedicate zero time to discussing this plan, or the council’s and mayor’s intent for these grants. Will this money remain in place for Eugene indefinitely? What is the Mayor’s and Council’s follow-through plan regarding BEDI grants?

Popularity: 12% [?]

Back in December 2006 the results from a community survey came out. You can read it here.

First, this was a very methodical survey. I remember very little from my statistics class in college, however, I recognize the variance elements, beta, etc. It’s solid information.

Secondly, the results of this survey paint a far different picture of Eugene than what you see via some of the elected officials. Cats, sustainability, and downtown are not the public’s #1 priority. Important, but not #1. Security (fighting crime), jobs, and education are.

To put it succinctly, here are the concerns showing the largest growth in interest, consistently, every year, since 1998 (or 2001).

• Is Eugene’s population growing too fast?

  56% said yes in 1998, 31% in 2006. Either this means people think Eugene is slowing down, or they’re more accepting of the pop. growth needed to maintain a vibrant community. Probably the latter. Eugene doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

• In 1998, 45% of people surveyed believed their economic opportunities were getting better.

  That % fell by nearly 40% to only 25% who believed the same in 2006. This is significant. Obviously people feel that the city gov’t is not doing enough to encourage job growth, especially in the form of “living wages.”

  And yet..about 45% of Eugenians for almost eight years have believed that the City shouldn’t provide businesses with tax incentives. I feel for the Mayor here. But then that’s what leadership is about - telling people what they sometimes don’t want to hear.

  Springfield is dominant in the area of job and economic growth. As Springfield house prices catch up with Eugene’s, providing a larger taxable base for the City of Springfield, Eugene city leaders will discover that you can’t just opt-out of competition for resources. Eugene doesn’t “deserve” economic benefits any more than Springfield, right? That’s got to be earned.

• Safety - Business areas vs. neighborhoods.

  60-65% of people on average, over the last five years have felt very safe in their neighborhoods. Only about 27% on average say the same about business areas - hitting a five year low of 18% in 2006.

  Safety is a real issue for many, and especially women (it says so in the report). I would not feel comfortable having my wife walk alone at night to meet me downtown. I would rather walk to her. Suburbia, with all its bourgeois hubris and “Desperate Housewives” mythology, is safe. Suburbia is also an enormous asset to the city.

Everyone is aware of the successes of Eugene city government - good parks, decent schools, a great library system. What we don’t have very often in this town however is an open debate where people refuse to offend easily. Where conflict leads to resolution and a better city.

Ironically, most Eugenians with a thick skin simply hope the pollsters call them once a year. They’re too busy for the other nonsense.

Popularity: 22% [?]

My buddy Christian, owner of Pacific Home Funding, filled me in on a little commercial development news.

Pottery Barn is coming to Oakway Mall. Here’s a link to the various permits that were filed.

First PF Changs, now Pottery Barn. Oakway Mall management has made some big moves to help the city of Eugene move past 1965 and into the modern world. There’s nothing wrong with a little self-interest along the way.

Giant sinkholes in Downtown Eugene are evidence of what can happen when investors’ self-interest is perceived as bad for all. Oakway appears to be a dogma free zone, and I think (most) everyone is impressed by what they have been able to do for that mall in 10 years.

Popularity: 23% [?]