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and suggested that, as the numbers were not completely known at this point, the council go back to the two largest developments constructed to date and analyze their actual financial performance. He related that what would be found was that both Broadway Place and High Street Terrace were overly optimistic in the proformas submitted prior to development. What was thought to be a nine-percent return had become less than a four-percent return. He alleged that the project would now be losing money should it have been made to pay full property taxes. Mr. Prichard stressed that no project could withstand sustained losses and added that Broadway Place had been a success with occupancy that has mn no lower than 92 percent over time, though it has the highest rents in Eugene. Mr. Prichard underscored that land in the downtown area cost as much as ten times the cost of multi- family zoned land in the suburbs. Additionally, the collective vision for development was that downtown housing should be multi-story, mixed use, steel and masonry, and with embedded parking. He stressed that this made construction costs more than double that of construction of suburban wooden dwellings. He asserted that rental rates to cover the costs were currently impossible to achieve. He encouraged the council to keep and expand MUPTE and continue to try to ;;level the playing field." Martin Henner, 984 Lincoln Street, stated that he was part of a group that was seeking to build co- housing, a cooperative housing with a ;;Danish flavor", in downtown Eugene. He related that his group tied down a parcel of land on the comer of 11th Avenue and Lincoln Street that appeared to be suitable for this. Noting that downtown development was very expensive, he stressed that while the council was expanding the MUPTE boundary in other directions, it was not being expanded in the area of this property. He conveyed the desire of the group to increase residency in the downtown area. He asserted there was no reason not to expand the boundary to the west. He recommended extending the boundary to Lawrence Street or to Washington Street. He expressed hope that the council wanted to see more owner- occupied residences downtown and not just rental units. Elizabeth Lyon, 2123 Marlow Lane, spoke as part of the potential co-housing development. She related that she had raised her family in a single-family dwelling and they were now grown. She stated that she was an author with four books and had an editing company. She expressed her desire to be part of a co- housing development now that her children were grown, but felt her position was tenuous. She opined that both low-income and high-income people received benefits for housing in the downtown area but middle-income people like herself received none. She urged the council to help the people ;;in the middle" who want to contribute to the revitalization of the downtown area. Jenny Gussett, 535 West 20th Avenue, testified on behalf of the co-housing group. She said she had a long-held interest in the community and in enhancing the sustainability and livability of the downtown area. She felt the co-housing development had a unique take on the fulfillment of the downtown goals as it featured multi-family, multi-generational housing and would be an opportunity to model how people could live in a community and have ownership at the same time. She added that it would encourage people to use cars less and walk more and asked that the boundary be expanded to include the site at 11th Avenue and Lincoln Street. Mayor Torrey called for a five-minute break at 8:52 p.m. In response to a question from Councilor Bettman, Mr. Weinman clarified that the staff recommendation was that low-income housing would no longer be counted as a public benefit by charging the fee, because it was preferable to see the project quality increase. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 9, 2004 Page 8 Regular Meeting