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He said the goal for mixed use downtown could be achieved by looking at downtown as a whole; while a <br />particular project might include mixed uses, housing was one of those uses and the Opus project would <br />support that goal. He recommended that the URA direct staff, in the event the transaction with WG did not <br />close by March 31, 2009, to bring final terms with Opus to the agency as soon as practicable after the <br />council break. <br /> <br />Ms. Piercy understood the financial uncertainties everyone faced and while she had supported the decision to <br />select the WG project, it had been somewhat fragile financially and that did not appear to have changed. <br />She felt Opus was in a stronger financial position and had a better chance of success at this time. She <br />supported the City Manager’s recommendation. <br /> <br />Mr. Zelenka still felt the WG proposal was the right one with a mix of uses he wanted to see downtown. He <br />agreed that the economic situation had changed, but was willing to grant WG an extension of six months. <br />He was willing to consider a different proposal if nothing was resolved within that six-month period. <br /> <br />Mr. Brown pointed out there was no guarantee with the Opus project either. He supported a six-month <br />extension for WG. <br /> <br />Mr. Poling liked the WG project because of the mix of uses. He was concerned with the high concentration <br />of college-age people that would occur in downtown under the Opus project and noted the problems that <br />occurred elsewhere in the community where there was a concentration of student housing. He could support <br />a six-month extension, but did not want to see a situation occur similar to the one with Oregon Research <br />Institute (ORI). <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor said he liked the idea of student housing downtown and originally favored the Opus proposal, but <br />supported WG when the council selected that project. He could support the WG extension request if it was <br />limited to six months, with a status check at three months. He did not want to abandon WG because of <br />circumstances beyond its control, particularly if an extension would allow the project to move forward. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor pointed out that the Opus proposal was also not a certainty. She asked if the WG proposal <br />could be converted to housing instead of a mixture of office space and housing. Ms. Laurence said that had <br />been discussed but the economics of commercial office space would better support the development and a <br />mix of uses would provide a better return. City Attorney Glenn Klein said he was not certain the nature of <br />the project could be changed by directing staff to convert it to housing. He would need to research whether <br />that was possible and what process would be required. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor stated her preference for changing the WG project to housing only, with half the site used for a <br />park. <br /> <br />Ms. Ortiz said she would also like to see the site as open space, but the reality was that there were no funds <br />to pay for that. She could support a six-month extension if there was a check on status at three months. She <br />hoped if it became apparent to WG that the project was not viable it would inform the City of that so <br />another proposal could be considered. <br /> <br />Ms. Solomon said she initially supported WG because of the local aspect, but it was a very fragile project <br />from the start and for reasons beyond WG’s control had not come to fruition. She was not convinced that an <br />extension would change that and preferred to let Opus move forward with its project. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 9, 2009 Page 2 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />