The Eugene City Council unanimously approved 10-year property tax exemptions for three proposed Downtown riverfront housing projects totaling a $20.7 million tax break in a March 9 work session.

The 381 planned market-rate residential units are just one of the initiatives the city has undertaken for the transformation of the “inaccessible riverfront lot into a vibrant, active and accessible riverfront district and community destination,” the city said.

Atkins Dame, the developer which entered into a development agreement with the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency in 2020, submitted three Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemption applications through its legal entity — Eugene Riverfront District, LLC — for three proposed four-story housing projects. The city expects the projects to bring in $160 million in construction. Atkins Dame will pay $831,000 in property taxes with the exemption.

“I’d rather see the whole riverfront stay as public land, as I’ve said before, but we’re in desperate need of more housing of all sorts,” Councilor Emily Semple said. “I think this will be a very desirable neighborhood.”

Councilors have been hesitant about approving MUPTEs in the past. Councilors Alan Zelenka and Semple said they haven’t voted for a MUPTE yet because it has been misused in the past. Zelenka gave the example of two student housing complexes being identical but only one receiving a MUPTE.

Requirements for receiving a MUPTE include compact urban development, green building features, local economic impact plan, moderate-income housing contribution, project design and compatibility, historic and existing housing sensitivity and project financial need.

“I’m satisfied that there is public benefit here,” Zelenka said. An independent financial consultant reviewed the projects and concluded all three projects would not be feasible without a MUPTE. “With that, overall, I can support this project,” Zelenka said about the review.

In its application, Atkins Dame said 55% of its labor will be local to Lane County. MUPTE recipients need to ensure minority and women business owners have an equitable opportunity to compete for development-related contracts. Councilor Greg Evans requested staff to ask the developers for their record on hiring women and minority workers.

“This is merely a reporting requirement,” Zelenka said. “There’s no provision that allows us to claw back any of the tax credit should they not perform to what they said they were going to do, which I think was an error on our part.”

Projects that receive a MUPTE must make a moderate-income housing contribution in the form of a fee to support moderate-income housing or through the creation of moderate-income housing units. Atkins Dame will pay a fee equivalent to 10% of its tax exemption — which totals over $2 million.

The Gordon Lofts apartments, located at the 5th Street Public Market, received a MUPTE, and the city received about $400,000 in moderate-income housing, Community Development Director Will Dowdy said. Part of that money was used for the 1059 Willamette project, a mixed-income housing development.

The projects have to demonstrate they’ll exceed the 10% energy efficiency MUPTE requirements and have green building features. Atkins Dame will have to submit an energy model for city staff to review, Amanda D’Souza, a business development analyst with the city, said.

Construction on the first projects is expected to start later in 2022.