CC Minutes - 04/16/07 Work Session

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Mr. Zelenka asked how the unique nature of downtown could be preserved and enhanced. Mr. Bowerman said he did not think the goal should necessarily be about uniqueness; most west coast cities had many common qualities and individual characteristics came about by responding to the local environment. Mr. Korth offered his perspective on the fundamentals of development, using the Oakway Center as an example. He said that any redevelopment project needed to consider some basic issues, including creating a master plan for the project regardless of whether the development was incremental or critical mass. He said that ownership of contiguous properties was a significant factor as adjacent properties and neighbors were important to retailers. He said that establishing a timeline was also essential. He indicated that the regional mall model had worked well for the Oakway Center and resulted in a vision that guided overall development. He agreed with earlier comments about the importance of a project's economics; the rent structure had to support the project but be tempered by what tenants could afford. In response to a request from Mayor Piercy, Mr. Korth said the Center Courtyard and heritage tree features of the Oakway Center were intended to establish a connection to the community through preserving its historical significance and creating a pleasant environment for the public. Ms. Bettman asked if any subsidies had been involved in development of the mall. Mr. Korth said that no subsidized were used although some system development charges (SDC) credits were used in the develop- ment of property across Coburg Road from Oakway Center. Mr. Diethelm distributed to the council a memorandum dated April 16, 2007, on the subject of downtown project evaluation. He said his bias was toward encouraging downtown development and that public investments would be involved in order to further the City's goals. He was familiar with the sites identified for redevelopment and discussed some of his previous experience with developing overall public urban design frameworks for projects. He said the difference between those projects and the ones being considered by the council was that they began with urban design plans that set forth details of what the jurisdiction was trying to accomplish and developers were asked to show how they could fit into that framework of community expectations. He contrasted that with simply asking developers what they would like to do. He used the example of a project in which the owners refused to sell the property for redevelopment until there was an urban design plan with broad community agreement. He said that the downtown development proposals were premature and urged development of urban design plans for both sites to measure proposals against. He also encouraged the inclusion of more public space in any development project. He noted that critical mass might not happen all at once. Ms. Bettman appreciated Mr. Diethelm's point that critical mass could be achieved incrementally. She asked what disadvantages large development had. Mr. Diethelm said an advantage of large-scale develop- ment could be building infrastructure all at once instead of piecemeal, but a disadvantage was that large developers did not always do what a city wanted. Ms. Tate said her development experience was with smaller scale projects such as the L & L Market and Woodleaf Village. She said that in one case the financing gap was filled from a number of sources, including affordable housing tax credits. She said a subsidy was essential to building a project that people could afford. She said the condominiums she recently developed at 14th Avenue and Lincoln Street had a cost of almost $300 a square foot and the City's requirement for a mix of commercial and residential had made it challenging to build the project. She noted that other projects had problems filling their commercial space and she would not have embarked on the condominium project without a commitment from a tenant for two of the three spaces. She urged the council to rethink the requirement for retail and office space. She MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 16, 2007 Page 3 Workshop