07/08/1976 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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-' center and Valley River. This will require at least three department stores includ- ing at least. one already in the downtown area, with the advantage of an enclosed air e conditioned mall and space available for parking. He felt the market will support such expansion downtown as well as maintain existing retail outlets there to which ~ commitment has been made to this point. He added that there are potential tenants for such expansion. Financing a center and parking would have to be evaluated, he said, as well as a study of a development that could be accomplished in a compact manner with existing facilities and compatible to the westside neighborhood. He was confident . it could be accomplished and noted his conclusions were reinforced by the Blayney report. Turning to timing, Mr. Keyser said generally it takes about five to six years from initiation of, planning to opening a store for a regional shopping center. Because of Valley River's recent expansion, market analyses suggest it will be the early 1980s before pressures begin to develop for further retail expansion. And given the expira- tion of Sears downtown lease in 1983, planning started now could lead to a store's opening in 1981/82, which would appear to be good timing so far as attempting to secure Sears as a tenant. Beginning now would also assist in retaining Penney's in the downtown area, he said. Summarizing, Mr. Keyser said he was very optimistic that the ingredients were present for an in-town shopping center, developed in such a way that it would reinforce what is already downtown, and he recommended that the next step be taken now if the community was desirous of pursuing this opportunity. John Blayney summarized alternatives in the Downtown Westside Study, an attempt to re- solve the existing conflict between the Council's adopted General Plan and existing zoning without prejudging which should have priority - maximum residential, maximum commercial, or mixed. He noted decisions were needed on what to do about an in-town shopping center, land use in the westside area, and traffic patterns, depending upon the ESATS update. He reviewed present conditions in the westside area - C-2 and R-2 e zoning - and character of the area, predominently residential, except on the thorough- .-.- fares, with more than half the residential use on land zoned for commercial use. He noted surveys taken in the area which revealed condition of housing and type of occupancy, including number of persons per unit, rental or owner, income, preference for residence location in Eugene, etc. Mr. Blayney noted the high regard people living in that area had for it. Also the amount of land sales activity and that the resi- dential assessed value was increasing in the westside area faster than that on commercial properties. Mr. Blayney said an attempt was made to determine the amount of housing that might be attracted to the area. Projections indicate that the Eugene/Springfield area will add about lOOO, apartments per year, which could mean 85 to 130 added on the average per year should central Eugene maintain the average it has been attracting. He cited statistics for projections for .new housing in Eugene and financial possibilities for new housing, including use of Community Development Act funds, on which he based the projection of perhaps 20 to 25 per year in the westside area. With regard to study of commercial uses, Mr. Blayney's report indicated the potential for increasing the existing 17 acres was in accord with that of Mr. Keyser. It was quite obvious, he said, that Eugene was overbuilt when looking at extension of office space along Willamette, Oak, and Pearl. So that expansion to the west for about two blocks appeared potentially proportionate to the overall commercial land available in the central area. He noted too the construction of offices was the most profitable _ ahead of residential - taking into account parking requirements. Retail was the least profitable because of the substantial amount of land required for parking. e Turning to traffic patterns, Mr. Blayney referred to the alternatives illustrated on -- maps, saying that obviously Washington and Jefferson, like the rest of the streets in the westside area, were never meant to carry the number of autos they do in a day. 7/8/76 - 2 3~1