Item B: URA - West Broadway Preliminary Financing Plan

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The preliminary finance plan is included as Attachment B. It includes a variety of financing sources, such as a HUD Section 108 Loan, a BEDI grant, urban renewal revenue bonds and cash contributions, Downtown Revitalization Loan Program funds, HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds, and general funds or general fund guarantee. The finance plan assumes that the City’s financial participation in this public/private partnership will consist of several items. There would likely be some contribution towards the land acquisition and public site-related costs (utilities, sidewalks, etc.). The City would be asked to pay for a publicly owned parking garage. For the housing portions of the project, the developers may request a low-income hous- ing loan, which would be repaid over time. They may also request a 10-year Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemption or a 20-year low-income housing exemption. (This information is speculative, because the City and the developers have not yet negotiated specific financial arrangements.) The URA is not asked to make any decisions about the finance plan or the assumed City/URA financial participation at this time. The preliminary finance plan is presented for the purpose of informing the agency about the potential financial actions that may be needed for accomplishing the downtown development project. Downtown Urban Renewal Plan Amendments Today’s requested action is to forward the possible amendments to the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan to the Planning Commission and overlapping taxing districts for their review and input prior to holding a public hearing before the City Council. Urban renewal is an important tool to be used to fund the City’s contribution to the West Broadway public/private partnership and the amendment process is necessary to accommodate this project. Three potential amendments to the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan are being proposed at this time: (i) increase maximum indebtedness by $95 million, for a total of $128 million; (ii) extend the termination date from June 30, 2024, to June 30, 2030; and (iii) expand the boundaries of the district in two directions to incorporate portions of the Eugene Clinic area and the Lane County Annex area. The first two amendments, increasing the maximum indebtedness and extending the termination date, are necessary to allow the Urban Renewal Agency to increase its financial capacity to fund a large project such as the West Broadway redevelopment effort. “Maximum indebtedness” is a spending cap for all expenditures in the district beginning in FY99 and is required by Oregon statutes. The current “maximum indebtedness” of $33 million has nearly been fully spent, with the bulk spent on the library. Adopting a “maximum indebtedness” figure does not authorize or obligate the district to enter into debt. Rather, it allows the current and future URA Boards to have the ability to fund projects over time, either with cash or by issuing debt. Extending the termination date allows the agency to issue debt with a 20-year repayment schedule, which maximizes the ability of the agency to pay for a large-scale development project. The third proposed amendment is a boundary expansion. This type of plan change requires a fairly lengthy and involved substantial amendment process. Because the URA is going through the substantial amendment process to increase maximum indebtedness at this time, staff recommends that the agency also consider a boundary expansion. Three options are shown for expansion areas, and staff recommends an option that captures two areas contiguous to the current district. Additional information about each of the proposed plan amendments is included in the attachments. Attachment C includes an explanation of each of the three proposed plan amendments. Attachment D L:\CMO\2007 Council Agendas\M070529\S070529B.doc