Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 2017)
NEWS BY CORINNE BOYER RIVERFRONT MASTER PLAN CONCEPT BY ROWELL BROKAW TAKE ME TO THE RIVER Urban renewal redevelopment along the Willamette targets public access improvements he city of Eugene is aiming to complete construc- tion for a park and other riverfront redevelopment by 2021. The future park is part of the city’s Riv- erfront Urban Renewal District, which includes 16 acres of riverfront property sold by the Eugene Wa- ter and Electric Board to the city for $5.75 million in 2016. Amanda Nobel Flannery, the economic prosperity pro- grams manager with the city, says, “The riverfront redevel- opment is likely to be a key destination for the 2021 IAAF World Track and Field championships.” The master plan for the riverfront property was ap- proved in 2010 after input from more than 1,000 commu- nity members, Nobel Flannery says. In addition to the park, the plan includes “a high qual- ity multi-use riverfront redevelopment that will reflect the community’s vision of providing economic and housing opportunities, promoting compact urban development and enhancing natural resources,” she says. The venture would be paid for with urban-renewal fund- ing, otherwise known as tax increment financing, which opponents say diverts property tax revenue for schools and essential city and county services. Nobel Flannery says the city has just signed an exclu- sive negotiating agreement with Williams & Dame, a po- tential developer. It provides for six months due diligence process on their part, she says, and the company is inter- ested in owning and redeveloping the property consistent with the riverfront master plan. Those concerned about the idea of the city’s green- lighting another boxy Capstone or Home2 Suites project with little to no setbacks may note that Williams & Dame developed Portland’s Pearl and South Waterfront districts. Part of the redevelopment plan also encompasses a de- sign to connect Willamette Street to the Willamette River. Will Dowdy, with the city’s planning department, says Willamette to Willamette is a “handful of projects that are intended to bring downtown closer to the river.” After reaching out to the public, Dowdy says people consistently talked about the connectivity and the barriers that prevent an easy commute from downtown to the river. Dowdy says the river is only a half mile from the inter- T 8 A ugust 31, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com section of Eighth Avenue and Willamette Street, but navi- ing to strengthen that connection rather than push farther gating the existing path to the river isn’t obvious. “Once away from it,” Dowdy says. you get along the railroad tracks — because right now you Scott Clarke, an architect with Pivot Architecture in have to kind of go around a parking lot area — you go Eugene and chair of AIA-SWO Eugene-Springfield Com- through tall fences with barbed wire at the top,” he says. mittee on Local Affairs, answered questions together with Public input also identified fellow CoLA members regarding a few crucial barriers that com- the implementation of the RURD muters face when walking or via email. Eugene Weekly asked biking to the river. Dowdy says if both plans for a new City Hall the city is working to improve and courthouse should be con- the intersection of Eighth Avenue sidered once construction begins and Mill Street, the railroad track on Willamette to Willamette. crossing and to improve Eighth “The new locations for City Avenue. Hall and the new County Court- “One of the things that we house strongly support the Wil- are looking at is to see if Eighth lamette to Willamette plan. As Avenue can feel less like a cor- such, their construction will im- ridor for moving cars quickly prove the viability of the EWEB into downtown and more like riverfront redevelopment,” any other part of downtown,” he Clarke wrote in an email. “The — Will Dowdy, city planner says. two civic projects will support Dowdy adds that the loudest riverfront redevelopment pro- complaint from the public is the vided that they support the objec- unpleasant commute along Eighth. “Some of that has to do tives of Willamette to Willamette.” with the development or lack of development on the prop- And as far as worries of Capstone go, Clarke adds that erties along it,” he says, which includes the former city hall community and board participation were kept in mind with site and fencing around the empty lot. the development of the EWEB Riverfront Master Plan. Plans are under way to convert Eighth Avenue into a “It is a master plan that identifies values and strategies two-way street — when it’s due for repaving in the next that will result in a diverse, inclusive, sustainable neigh- few years — and to improve bicycle lanes, he says. borhood,” according to the email. “Capstone, by compari- When asked about the origin of the barriers to the river, son, was a single-use development beholden mostly to the Dowdy says riverfront redevelopment is happening across city’s land use code and the market demands of student the country in communities that once used their rivers as housing,” Clarke writes. the industrial centers of town, and which historically have “The city cannot ensure architectural quality,” he con- moved their business and residential centers away from the tinues. “It can only establish conditions that will increase river. the likeliness of establishing appropriate uses, densi- “But now, as the economy has been changing and ties, and other conditions that allow the creation of safe, evolving over the last two decades, the riverfront location sustainable built environments.” doesn’t have the same industrial significance, and so in Eu- The city is looking for volunteers to serve on a “River Guides” advisory com- mittee on the RURD. To apply, call Amanda Nobel Flannery at 541-682-5535 or gene — just like many other communities — we’re at the email Amanda.NobelFlannery@ci.eugene.or.us. Applications are due Sept. 25. point where we are rediscovering our waterfront and look- One of the things that we are looking at is to see if Eighth Avenue can feel less like a corridor for moving cars quickly into downtown and more like any other part of downtown.
