Lane Community College will break ground on Friday to begin building a new downtown green learning center, but the transaction of the land has caused tension between the city of Eugene and the University.
The West 10th Avenue location across from the Eugene Public Library, originally home to a Sears department store, was excavated for the Oregon Research Institute to construct a building, but the financing fell through.
The site has been an open pit for six years, and the half block of downtown was transferred to LCC last October. Through a partnership arranged by the City Council and the LCC’s board of directors, the college was given the land for $1.
LCC is expected to spend $35 million for the academic building and $15 million for the housing building. The two buildings together will constitute the learning center.
University President Richard Lariviere expressed discontent over the inexpensive transaction between LCC and Eugene, objecting to the city charging the University $1.6 million to purchase a section of Moss Street to be used for more campus parking, while giving land to LCC essentially for free.
The University offered $1 million for the land but was denied, and University Senior Director of Communications Phil Weiler said the price is still in negotiation.
“The city has to reach out to us and be a little more helpful,” Lariviere said in an interview with a journalistic interview class at the University. “Maybe there’s an explanation (for the difference). I can’t figure it out myself. We can’t be seen as the cash cow for the city.”
Though Mayor Kitty Piercy said that is true, she also said the University is looking for the best deal possible and that the city has a fiscal responsibility to get the best deal for the community.
“If you looked at the University right now and saw everything that they are building, I expect you would think they had a certain amount of capacity to pay for their own way,” Piercy said.
The mayor said the Eugene City Council has directed staff to try and benefit from the buildings they sell, and she feels that the LCC center will greatly contribute to the downtown area.
“That really has to do with what our council’s goals for trying to create a healthier part of downtown (are), and there’s not the same feeling of needing that much help for the Moss Street area,” Piercy said.
She mentioned that the city’s partnership with LCC involves the city paying for the ground and the college building what she believes is a signature learning center that will revitalize downtown.
The area is expected to be used for both academic and housing needs and will be environmentally friendly. Students living in the housing center will be required to fulfill “green responsibilities,” Piercy said, and the mechanics of the academic structure will be transparent so students will be able to see how a green building functions.
The mayor has been using a number of city partnerships to work toward reviving Eugene’s downtown area. Such partnerships include helping Portland-based Beam Development renovate Eugene’s Centre Court Building; helping developer Rob Bennett build a new office structure; and to also assist real estate manager Steve Master with the construction of apartment buildings.
Piercy thinks LCC’s learning center will assist in re-energizing downtown and drawing more Eugene residents to the area.
“It’s in the interest of our community for us to have something there that is thriving and doing well and helping grow business around it,” Piercy said.

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