Agenda Packet 3-11-19 Work Session

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March 11, 2019, Work Session – Item 2 The following sections A through C provide projects that have already received Agency Board approval for Riverfront Urban Renewal funds (the Quiet Zone and Downtown Riverfront related), immediate projects the Agency Board will consider allocating funding for next month (Riverfront Park and Plaza), and future projects either in the planning phase (affordable housing, Steam Plant) or that represent an existing need (parking) that are anticipated to need public financial support. A. Funds-Already-Committed Projects Quiet Zone – Three Eastern Crossings: The FY19 Adopted Budget has $3.7 million for the three eastern crossings to be paid with Riverfront Urban Renewal funds. Design is underway. All ten of the crossing improvements are scheduled for construction in 2020. Williams & Dame Disposition and Development Agreement Related: Street infrastructure to provide access to the park and other DDA costs estimated at $5.2 million. The estimated FY19 design cost of infrastructure is $1 million, which is initially being funded with Riverfront Urban Renewal funds. Additional Riverfront Urban Renewal funds will be in the FY20 Proposed Budget for design and preliminary infrastructure work. These FY19 and FY20 expenditures will ultimately become part of the total LID cost that will be split between WDA and URA. After the bids are opened around March of 2020, City Council will be provided with an update on the total cost and at that point, will be asked to approve the final budget for the LID and approve the next step in the LID process based on those bids so that, ultimately, the costs of the LID can be assessed against the parcels. B. Immediate Projects Downtown Riverfront Park (three acres) An inviting and accessible public park along the Willamette River has long been envisioned as a critical component to creating a new riverfront neighborhood district in Downtown Eugene. This park will serve as an anchor amenity for new private development and create an access point to the riverfront for the community as a whole. The park concept was included as a key element in the approved EWEB Riverfront Master Plan and related zoning and was one of the most publicly supported components of the entire redevelopment concept. Adoption of the EWEB Riverfront Master Plan by the EWEB Board and City Council led to the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding between EWEB and the City. The MOU stated that EWEB would donate three acres of Riverfront property to City of Eugene Parks in exchange for a dedication of a funds for park development in the future. To that end, in January 2018, the City hired a consultant team led by Walker Macy Landscape Architects to re-engage the public in a Downtown Riverfront Park design process to reaffirm the design values and refine the park design further. Over the course of several focus group meetings, large public meetings, tours and three surveys, the City engaged over three thousand people in the discussion of what our Riverfront Park should be. Staff and project consultants heard clearly that the community wanted an urban riverfront experience that acknowledges history, cares for the environment, brings people to the River, and provides an inclusive, City-wide destination for everyone.