Residents of the South University Neighborhood are trying to accommodate a real estate developer who wants to build a high-rise apartment building one block south of the University, but they also want their neighborhood to have a positive feeling of “livability.”
This compromise will either have to come from a re-working of city codes that would force a redesign of the building, or a willingness of the designer to find a middle ground with area neighbors.
About 10 of those residents attended a Eugene City Council meeting Monday night to express their gratitude for the council’s attention to their concerns about the proposed seven-story building.
“We need the full weight of the city council behind us,” said 11-year South University resident Marilyn Milne. “We understand that he is in business and needs to make a profit, but this is an intersection of his interest and our livability.”
The building was originally designed to rise nearly 100 feet in the air and contain 52 four- and five-bedroom units, but it only planned for 40 parking spaces.
Dean Pickett, the apartment developer, has been trying to keep residents happy by developing an apartment building that is in harmony with the neighborhood rather than creating an eyesore that exacerbates the already difficult parking situation in the area.
Lauren Hulse, a South University resident, said Pickett recently told her he may have new plans drawn up by Wednesday that would give the building a whole new look.
The redesigned apartment complex would only be a five-story, 60-feet-high building, with a slightly pitched roof that Hulse believes would “look compatible with the neighborhood.” It would include three- and four-bedroom dwelling units and perhaps underground or semi-underground parking, she added.
“Dean Pickett has been a really decent guy, and we all hope that he’s not just stringing us along,” Hulse said.
Not all the residents are happy with the new building however – regardless of whether it is a seven- or five-story building.
Hulse said she knows a few residents who have already talked about moving away from the neighborhood as the influx of students to the proposed 212-bedroom building could only make the area more unruly.
The neighborhood group plans to keep working with the city to amend local building codes and with Pickett to design a building that will not disturb the livability of the area.
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