City staff to seek out downtown developers.

Byline: Edward Russo The Register-Guard

The Eugene City Council on Monday gave city officials permission to see whether developers are keen about transforming the heart of downtown.

Councilors voted 7-1 to seek qualifications from developers who might be interested in properties on and around West Broadway, between Willamette and Charnelton streets.

"We, as a city, have danced around this issue (of Broadway redevelopment) for too long," Councilor George Poling said. "We need to take some aggressive steps to redevelop downtown."

City officials hope to use the options in order to spur interest in remaking the two-block area and its vacant storefronts into a bustling stretch of shops and cafes.

With the help of a real estate consultant, city planners in recent weeks secured purchase options on Broadway properties. The agreements allow the city to buy the properties for certain prices in the next six months or year, or to assign the options to another party, such as a developer.

City planners last month disclosed that they had secured the agreements with the owners of eight properties, including major downtown landlords Tom Connor and Don Woolley.

On Monday, planners revealed that last week they had reached a sales agreement with Jack Louie, the owner of the building at Broadway and Olive Street that houses the Horsehead Bar.

Negotiations continue with two other property owners.

Louie wants $1.98 million for his property. Altogether, the property owners are asking for $15.6 million to sell their properties, most of them within six months. Individually, the prices range from $625,000 for the building that houses John Henry's bar to $3.15 million for the two Connor and Woolley buildings on the south side of Broadway, between Olive and Charnelton streets.

The city paid the property owners a combined $44,500 for the purchase options. It will have to pay the owners $132,000 more to extend the agreements another six months.

Monday's meeting was the first chance for the council, acting as the city's Urban Renewal Agency, to discuss the options. City planners began the effort in April, about the same time as a proposed redevelopment idea for the area by Connor and Woolley and their development firm, Opus Northwest, fell apart.

Many of the same property owners who have signed options with the city were unable to reach sales agreements with Connor-Woolley-Opus.

Most councilors were glad city officials got the options, which generally would give the owners more money than Connor-Woolley-Opus were willing to pay.

Councilor David Kelly thanked the property owners for agreeing to sell. However, he wondered whether the hefty land prices would prevent a developer from turning a profit.

"We would love to see something happening here," Kelly said. But he wondered whether it was economically feasible at the asking prices.

The council's directive to staff is meant to gauge whether developers are interested in redeveloping Broadway. If so, detailed plans would come later.

Councilor Betty Taylor cast the lone no vote against the proposal to seek qualifications from interested developers.

She said she was unaware until recently that city officials were working on the options, which meant spending money to tie up the properties for six months to a year.

The City Council is the city's Urban Renewal Agency, she noted, "and we did not (previously) discuss these options."

City Manager Dennis Taylor said his staff continued to work on West Broadway redevelopment after the Connor-Woolley-Opus effort failed. But, he said, the decision to proceed ultimately rests with the council.