BROADWAY
continued from page 1
economy has kept private business from
moving into the three-block long space.
Today, 10 of 33 storefronts in the old mall
are empty, a gallery space is up for lease, an
one business is holding a moving sale. Pedes
trians move quickly on the wide, smooth
sidewalks and young people asking for
change often sit on the decorative benches.
Though business is slow, things are im
proving. Business owners said their cus
tomers have better access to stores because
Broadway is open to traffic. Crime has also
dropped on the three blocks between Oak
Street and Charnelton Street. Calls to the
Eugene Police Department from those
blocks have dropped by 42 percent since the
street opened, from 1,092 calls in 2001 to
637 calls in 2003.
"Business is better since Broadway
opened up, but you know the economy
went down hill since they did that," said
Makyadath Lazar, owner of Lazar's Bazar.
He said he thinks Broadway will eventual
ly be a thriving street, but not for another
10 or 20 years.
"The downtown is not a big business cen
ter anymore," he said. "It's hanging in there.
It's just most of the businesses in here are
not doing that well. It's a little sick."
He added that public perceptions about
the safety and vitality of the area have im
proved, and people are more willing to go
to Broadway.
"I wanted it open because that is the main
blood supply," Lazar said. "When it was
closed, it was like a closed door. When it
opened, it got cleaner and safer."
Greg Fleener, owner of Cafe Paradiso at
115 W. Broadway, said he also supported the
opening of Broadway.
"I see a lot of encouraging things happen
ing," Fleener said. "I think the opening of
the street is just the start. There's a lot more
work to be done."
Work on opening the street started in
2000 after city officials proposed opening
the downtown mall as part of their "Vision
for Greater Downtown Eugene." The plan
envisioned Broadway as a "Great Street": a
place that draws people downtown for
shopping, eating and socializing.
Designers incorporated wide sidewalks,
narrow lanes to slow traffic, raised sidewalk
crossings and added a multitude of decora
tive elements into the street. The Eugene
City Council also passed an ordinance re
quiring street-level friendly design on most
new construction.
"I see a lot of encouraging
things happening. I think the
opening of the street is just
the start. There's a lot more
work to be done"
Greg Fleener
Owner, Cafe Paradiso
"All we could control in the environment
was how we designed the street," the city's
Project Manager Denny Braud said. "We rec
ognize that it is not quite great yet."
Developing in downtown is more expen
sive than in other areas of the city, Braud
said. The city gives developers some incen
tives, such as tax breaks for housing projects
to encourage downtown construction. The
City Council will also be voting on a new
development plan for all of downtown in
the coming weeks, which includes extend
ing the focus on Broadway all the way from
Hilyard Street to Lincoln Street.
Those plans, however, do little to change
current economics. In 2003, Oregon tied
with Michigan for the highest unemploy
ment rate in the nation at 7.6 percent.
Though some new businesses have moved
onto Broadway in that time, there hasn't
been a scramble to take over the many
empty storefronts.
Downtown Eugene Inc. Executive Direc
tor Russ Brink said downtown vacancies are
not the cit/s responsibility at this point. The
city has some tools to lure business to the
area, but its hands are tied by the bad econ
omy as well, he said.
"The private property owners along
Broadway need to make some improve
ments," he said. "In the end, it is private in
vestors having the confidence that they're
going to have a positive rate of return ."
Two local businessmen, Tom Connor
and Don Woolley, own four largely or com
pletely empty buildings that dominate
Broadway, including the former Bon
Marche and Symantec Corp. buildings.
'They own a lot of property and they con
trol a lot of what could happen in terms of
redevelopment," Braud said.
Neither Connor nor Woolley could be
reached for comment, but Braud said the
pair's plans to turn one of the buildings
into apartments were scrapped because of
high costs.
"They need to do something, but the eco
nomic conditions aren't such to motivate
them," Braud said.
Values on Broadway remain low. Rents
are some of the lowest in the downtown
area, Braud said, despite the fact that a few
blocks away renters pay some of the highest
costs in town. The low rent discourages new
projects on Broadway because developers
can't recoup the costs of their investment.
The layout of buildings also keeps busi
ness owners away, Braud said. Spaces are
long and narrow, while most business own
ers are looking for shallow and open spaces.
"A lot of the problem has to do with real
estate," Braud said.
He feels confident, however, that things
will improve in the next 10 years.
"I think there is a recognition that down
town is on the edge of revitalizing," Braud
said. "We're just not there yet."
Contact the city/state politics reporter
at nikacarlson@dailyemerald.com.
SHOW
continued from page 1
like hearing the Cramps sped up to maximum RPM.
To top it off, they're also great musicians. It's difficult
to play this loud and fast and still be precise, but this
band's songs cut like machetes. Pulling together a wide
range of old school rock 'n' roll styles and filtering them
through horror movie imagery, the Sawyer Family's trash
compactor approach to rock is rather invigorating. It's
also refreshing to hear a band that sings as much about
dismemberment as they do about relationships.
Band number three was the first out-of-town act, Seat
tle's Boss Martians. I know who they are and where
the/re from because the lead singer mentioned it no less
than seven times before the set was over. After awhile, it
began to feel like they had to constantly affirm this fact
to themselves, like a mantra, in order to keep playing.
Have you ever noticed how in movies, whenever there
is a battle of the bands going on, the winning band al
ways plays this cheesy, life-affirming style of rock? That's
what the Boss Martians sounded like. They have the
power pop thing down cold, sure, but that might be part
of the problem. For all their catchy new wave melodies
and guitar crunch, everything tended to sound alike. The
band started to come alive during the last few songs, but
never really built on the momentum.
Last up was Throw Rag from Los Angeles. Playing
nothing but the most grinding trash punk, the band is
full of pure rock 'n' roll decadence. Captain Sean-Doe,
Throw Rag's lead singer, comes off like an over-baked
Johnny Rotten impersonator on a bad day, while back
up singer and washboard player Jacko seems to revel in
the role of a total goon.
The band didn't miss a beat during their breathless 45
minute set, playing some of the dirtiest rock anyone is
likely to hear this side of the Butthole Surfers. It says a lot
that the usually passive WOW Hall audience was actually
showing signs of movement below the neck, meaning
that this band has definitely got something groovy go
ing for them.
It would be nice to see Throw Rag rise to some sem
blance of popularity on the national music scene, but it's
probably just wishful thinking. Bands this low down and
dirty tend to stay low to the ground.
Contact the senior Pulse reporter
at ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com.
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