City ought to consider all options for Eighth.

Byline: GUEST VIEWPOINT By Charles Tilt For The Register-Guard

Some decisions are permanent. You get only one chance to do the right thing.

Eugene decision-makers face that crossroads on West Eighth Avenue between Lincoln and Charnelton streets, where the city proposes a five-story apartment complex just 13 feet from the Community Center for the Performing Arts' Woodmen of the World Hall.

The city purchased the properties east and north of the WOW Hall in 2003, using federal funds that require at least 51 percent of any development be low-income housing, then issued a request for proposals that called for developing the entire site as housing.

The community-owned WOW Hall is well loved as Eugene's most important incubator for the performing arts. Its youth-oriented programming attracts audiences of all ages. WOW Hall events often generate extensive late-night activity with youthful audiences gathering on the sidewalk, and can feature high-volume music.

Many are concerned that placing apartments next to the WOW Hall could create conflicts, invite police visits and ultimately jeopardize the hall's survival by restricting its programming.

When the city released the request for proposal, a group of small-business owners who share concerns about the project's impact on the WOW Hall formed the West Eighth Avenue Group, LLC. The group is also interested in reusing the vacant Ridenour Building next door, where the building's structural integrity and redevelopment potential were not evaluated by the city.

The 12,500-square-foot Ridenour Building currently buffers the surrounding area from noise and activity, thereby helping enable the WOW Hall to conduct its programming.

In the mid-1990s, the Ridenour Building had a substantial structural upgrade, and its roof and sewer line were replaced. The building's open interior spaces and street frontage make it ideal for a low-cost tenant, such as a business incubator.

The West Eighth Avenue Group's proposed renovation would install a functional building infrastructure with a complete exterior cosmetic treatment that would be compatible with the historic Woodmen of the World Hall.

A renovated Ridenour Building would provide a nighttime storefront, drawing WOW Hall patrons off the sidewalk, all while catering to downtown neighbors and businesses during the daytime.

Letters of intent to lease 75 percent of the building have been received. Committed tenants include a coffee and tea house serving healthy food, an ice cream store dubbed Scoop and a retail outlet offering locally made jewelry and imports. An organic food processor and distributor, Honey Heaven, would anchor the back.

The group offers to purchase the Ridenour Building at a profit to the city, and requires no public subsidy. It recommends that the city work with a developer to build affordable housing on the parking lots to the east, which have space for an apartment building almost twice as large as the new 54-unit Aurora Building built by St. Vincent de Paul at 11th Avenue and Oak Street.

The proposed configuration would diminish the potential for conflicts between apartment residents and the WOW Hall. It would create an exciting commercial destination that could revitalize the area by fall 2005, benefiting all of Eugene.

On Jan. 11, the Eugene Allocations Committee chose not to rank the West Eighth Avenue Group's proposal because it did not include housing.

The committee favored Metropolitan Affordable Housing's proposal, which requires demolishing the Ridenour Building and arranges residential units around an open courtyard facing the WOW Hall. The project would require a subsidy of at least $2.1 million, the return of parking on West Eight Avenue and a 40-year property tax exemption.

METRO addresses noise issues by proposing substantive changes to the Woodmen of the World Hall, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in part because it retains most of its original detail and material. The proposed sound attenuation could cause the loss of an important historic resource and jeopardize federal funding for the affordable housing.

We and many others believe the planning for this site has been too narrowly focused. We support affordable housing downtown; however, if residential projects are to be livable, their design must respond to their context.

By opening up the planning process to consider a more balanced approach, as demonstrated in the West Eighth Avenue Group's proposal, the city could capture an opportunity to spark a renaissance in this long-neglected corner of downtown. The city can choose a win-win outcome.

The city's Housing Policy Board will hear public comments on the proposed development at noon today in the McNutt Room at City Hall, 777 Pearl St. The Eugene City Council is likely to vote on the Housing Policy Board's recommendation on March 7. However, public comments can be offered at the start of regular council meetings, at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 14 and 28.

Charles Tilt, the West Eighth Avenue Group's chairman, is a Eugene furniture maker who co-owns Honey Heaven.