Two city blocks in downtown Eugene slated for redevelopment have left city councilors in debate, a pair of Portland development firms in competition and public opinion in pieces.
The West Broadway area, between Willamette and Charnelton Streets, is in the planning stages of a reconstruction. However, those plans have come to a fork in the road as bickering about which way to go continues to get louder.
The Urban Renewal Agency (URA) issued a qualification request from interested developers for the West Broadway area on Dec. 8, 2006. Criteria for possible selection were based on the team qualifications of each developer, the vision and concept of the design, the timeliness and market feasibility, a cost estimate, public benefit, and consistency with city policies and goals.
Five developers responded to the request by the Feb. 9 deadline, and a work session was held to whittle down the field. KWG Development Partners and Beam Development were recognized by city councilors as the two qualified developers during the March 12 work session.
The requests were conceptual in nature and not actual proposals. The URA director was instructed to work with the developers to explore and return with more detailed project concepts for review and approval. The competing proposals varied significantly in design, concept and cost.
KWG’s complete re-development of the area carries a price tag of $191 million, and Beam’s project cost is $18 million. The KWG plan includes a five-story cinema, a five-story, high-end boutique hotel, offices, retail stores, housing rentals and underground parking. The projected scale of the project is 968,849 square feet.
Beam’s concept consists of rehabilitating existing structures, constructing a new one-story building on a portion of the hole adjacent to Centre Court and new surface parking. The projected scale of the project is 101,623 square feet.
KWG’s design is created around a rich and varied palette of architecture to attract retailers, visitors and customers. The upscale architecture includes glass storefronts with canopies, awnings and the creation of an active pedestrian realm. Green elements of construction and design will be used.
The design proposed by Beam Development would restore Centre Court and Washburne buildings by removing the old stucco siding, replacing the windows with historic “in nature and look” windows and refinishing the brick and brick detailing. Green roofs and storm water retention will be used for improved energy efficiency.
The estimated public investment varies greatly as the KWG project will require nearly $25 million and the Beam project has an estimated gap of $1.59 million.
In late April, the city managers recommended selecting KWG as the winning proposal. The recommendation was based on “KWG’s demonstrated qualifications and its overall responsiveness to the approved [requested] objectives and criteria,” according to a URA agenda. A final project was scheduled to come back by September 2007 for URA approval and financing details.
City councilors held a public forum on April 30, where a broad spectrum of participants were invited to give their input on the proposed concepts. Sides formed as both options gained support from residents and downtown stakeholders. Complicating the already divided issue, a new idea surfaced in the public forum.
Previously, city councilors sent out requests for concepts and would pick from those. In this third option, a consultant would be hired to help in the redevelopment design. Once the proposal is completed, the city would seek proposals for their design and developers would compete for the created design.
City councilors want a vibrant, active downtown environment, and they plan to spend the summer seeking public involvement to ensure the best possible outcome for the West Broadway area. Construction of the proposed KWG design would run from January 2009 through January 2010, as the Beam construction is projected for January 2008 to January 2009.
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