4/29/2019 Downtown rNerfront property comes alke with denrolition - News- The Reg ister-Guard - Eugene, OR <br />"It's such a realization of a lot of people's expectations, hopes and dreams, and the <br />timing of this is pretty amazing," said Emily Proudfoot, a city landscape architect <br />who is managing the riverfront park project. <br />The project will take a little of Eugene's history with it, although not to the level of <br />the University of Oregon's decision to demolish Hayward Field to make way for a <br />new state-of-the-art stadium, the.planned centerpiece of the 2021 world track and <br />field championships. The stadium construction is ongoing. <br />The State Historic Preservation Office has confirmed the bow-trussed building is <br />eligible for listing with the National Register of Historic Places. The building was <br />constructed in 1951 and was EWEB's first independent headquarters after it <br />moved out of the old City Hall. The 49,000-square-foot building also served as a <br />warehouse and operations area for the utility. Neither the Midgley's Building nor <br />repair shop was deemed to carry historical significance. <br />The state and city have reached an agreement to preserve the memory of the bow- <br /> <br />trussed building. The city has agreed to document the building with records and <br />photos before its demolition and install an interpretative kiosk after it's gone so <br />visitors can learn of its history on site. <br />The city has agreed to work with a Portland-based developer, Williams/Dame & <br />. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . <br />. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . <br />Associates, to transform the property into a new neighborhood. The <br />neighborhood will feature at least, 215 apartments, 70 or so market-rate <br />townhouses, a hotel with at least 125 rooms, a restaurant, retail space and an <br />affordable housing complex with at least 75 units. <br />In addition to the prep work, the city is working to form a local improvement <br />district to finance construction of the streets and utilities and to amend Eugene's <br />land-use code to reflect the differences in the coming development project from <br />the vision laid out in a citizen-developed master plan that was adopted for the <br />project. <br />The city estimated it would spend $12 million in public money on the project, <br />accounting for the land, streets, utilities and sidewalks. Williams/Dame estimated <br />its private investment in excess of $100 million. <br />The estimated cost of the riverfront park is $14 million. <br />. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . <br />https:/AmAw.reg isterg uard,com/news/20190428/downtown-ri\,erfront-propertycomes-al ive-with-demolition 3/4 <br />