1059 Willamette Redevelopment

The City of Eugene wants your feedback on a new housing development—and a model for housing never before seen in Eugene!

As a former department store and then the downtown Lane Community College (LCC) campus, the building at 1059 Willamette St. has long played a significant role in the Eugene community. After decades of welcoming hundreds of community members through its doors, the building has sat vacant since LCC opened their new downtown campus at 10th and Olive in 2013.

In 2019, the City of Eugene began exploring whether there was an opportunity to transform this prominent downtown space into a housing solution. Last year, the City Council authorized the use of federal funds to purchase the site in order to redevelop the property into mixed-income housing*.

What’s mixed-income housing?

Mixed-income housing means that apartments within the same building have different income qualifications. The federal funds used to purchase the site require that at least half of the units in the project must be affordable to households earning 80% of area median income (AMI) or less, and the remaining units will be priced at market rates. (For example, currently 80% AMI for a 1-person household is $39,200, and for a 4-person household is $56,000.)

Adding new options with a range of affordability can relieve pressure on the stock of lowest income housing options that have the highest demand in our community. Additionally, the project provides a more affordable option for rent-burdened residents, those paying more than 30% of their income on housing, allowing them to reduce costs, save money, and work towards greater financial stability and the potential of home ownership. Households earning 80% of AMI are an underserved population – there are very few options affordable to households earning between 60 and 80% AMI, and in most cases they would not qualify for other affordable housing options.

Who will build the mixed-income housing?

To bring this project into reality, the City released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to find a developer with the experience and resources to deliver on this innovative housing approach. The RFP was open for 3 months and we received one proposal from a development team, led by deChase Miksis and Edlen & Co. We are now seeking community feedback on the proposed project to find out: do you think this project will be good for downtown?

What are the elements of the proposed project?

The development team is proposing a new mixed-use, mixed-income building, called the Montgomery. The proposed project would have 129 units – 66 of the units would be restricted to households with incomes up to 80% of AMI. The other 63 units would be rented at market-rate without income qualifications. Download the full proposal.

Take the survey below to learn more about the project and to provide your feedback on the proposal.

Next Steps

The feedback provided through this survey will be collected and provided to City Council who will decide whether they would like to move forward with this proposal and begin negotiations with the development team. City Council is currently scheduled to discuss this proposal and potential financial support at their April 28 work session.

Future public engagement opportunities

The development team indicates they intend to apply for a Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemption (MUPTE), which offers a 10-year property tax exemption on multi-family construction in the downtown area. The MUPTE application process includes several opportunities for the public to provide feedback on the project.