If the Eugene City Council approves the outlines and cost projections of a proposed development plan, then construction of a Whole Foods Market and a new multi-story parking structure will soon begin in downtown Eugene.
The Whole Foods Development Project entails building a 52,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market and a $6 million to $8 million parking structure on a block bounded by High Street, Mill Street, Eighth Avenue and Broadway. In addition, two retail buildings will be built on the ground floor of the parking structure.
An International House of Pancakes restaurant, three residential units, an Oregonians Credit Union and a parking lot owned by the John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts are currently located on the property. They will be torn down to make way for the new buildings if the Council approves the plan.
The Council voted to postpone allowing the city manager to negotiate the necessary legal agreements to begin the project in a planning meeting on Wednesday in favor of allowing the vote to be postponed until Monday.

The property management company G Group owns most of the property on the block. According to spokeswoman Jenny Ulum, G Group has been in negotiation for a year to lease the property to Whole Foods, since a representative for Gerding/Edlen Development Company initiated development.
According to development plans, the Whole Foods Market would employ 250 people and would provide parking for a proposed 240 customers on top of the building. The adjacent parking structure would provide 192 to 266 parking spaces.
At the meeting on Wednesday, city councilors expressed support for the plan, but some had reservations about the financing of the project, which would include using public funds from the city.
“I’m not convinced that this is the best investment for this money,” Councilor Bonny Bettman said.

The construction is supported by the Downtown Plan, which seeks to revitalize the eastern downtown Eugene area and the Courthouse District.
“We are trying to implement the downtown plan, one project at a time,” Associate City Planner Nan Laurence said.
She also said the project has the potential to stimulate growth and future development in the downtown region.
“We’re all interested in seeing more development in east Eugene,” Laurence said. “We see Whole Foods as a catalyst for redevelopment.”
Laurence said the downtown area has a deficit of more than 1,000 parking spaces, and that the combined parking structures could provide more than 500 new spaces.
In exchange for giving up the parking lot on the corner of Eighth Avenue and High Street, the Shedd is asking for a city-owned parking lot that borders it to the north on Eighth Avenue. Oregonians Credit Union will receive space on the first floor of the parking structure.
 

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