12/02/1987 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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property owners felt about plans to exclude the Banana Warehouse, and Mr. Hibschman said they had not yet been contacted since the decision to remove e the building. He said staff felt other tools were available because of the historical orientation, which also was expected to result in less intensive development. He said it was felt that development of an alternate parcel would provide greater leverage for the renewal district. He added that staff planned to contact the owners after today's meeting. Mr. Miller said he was concerned about the impact on the central area, and he asked about the need to use up the expansion allowance now. He added that he was comfortable with the proposal for development to the east, but he thought moving west seemed contrary to other developments that were planned to the east. He suggested waiting to see what happened in the near future. Ms. Bascom said a factor in developing the area to the west was the underused EPAC garage. She asked whether the new proposal had been required because of new ownership of the Hilton hotel and because of the State office building being considered. Mayor Obie said expansion would provide an opportunity for tax increment funding that could be used in the rest of the district. Mr. Byrne said the Downtown Commission and the Planning Commission had not yet reviewed the recommendation or submitted it to the council, but that would occur in the future. Ms. Schue asked about the likelihood of State approval for an office building. Mr. Byrne said staff negotiations had been occurring for about eight or nine months, and the possibility of private construction and a capital lease, in which the State would assume ownership after 20 years, was being considered. e He said that arrangement would allow private construction and operation and the lease option would contribute to the Tax Increment district. He said the unknown factor in that arrangement or in expansion of a hotel would be parking. Responding to Ms. Schue's question, Mr. Byrne said tax increment funding then might be used to build an additional floor on the current County parking garage. Mr. Bennett said he had toured the area to the west and he recognized blight as a criterion. He said he also thought the area to the east was more developed commercially, and he asked about a connection between the east side and the central core area. He said he thought the expansion provided an opportunity for the east and central areas to become more complementary. Mr. Bennett raised the issue of market timing. He said he wanted a return on the City's investment, and although the need might be great, he asked whether the market currently was favorable for the expansion plan. Ms. Bascom asked about timing. Mr. Byrne said staff anticipated returning after the first of the year to continue discussion of the urban renewal plan update. He said plans were to first address those areas in which no conflicts of interest existed, and then to address Willamette Street and transportation issues. He said the Downtown Commission and the Planning Commission would review the plan update before it was returned to the council. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 2, 1987 Page 9 ~