Crescent rising.Byline: Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard In the frenzy of development that continues in Eugene's far northeast corner, one name - Arlie & Company - looms larger than the rest. Owned by husband and wife John Musumeci and Suzanne Arlie, the firm's namesake, the beginnings of a 40-acre "urban village" is taking shape north of Crescent Avenue. When complete, it will provide a community of boutiques, eateries, offices and professional services (job) professional services - A department of a supplier providing consultancy and programming manpower for the supplier's products. in addition to hundreds of units of high-end housing, where not so long ago sheep grazed graze 1 v. grazed, graz·ing, graz·es v.intr. 1. To feed on growing grasses and herbage. 2. Informal a. To eat a variety of appetizers as a full meal. and Canada geese geese domestic geese which were derived from the wild goose Anser anser. There are many other species in this genus and in the other genus of geese, the Branta spp. of which Branta canadensis is typical. honked and circled down to rest on their annual migration. Just last month, the $53 million initial phase of the Crescent Village development was rated No. 14 among 131 projects on the Portland-based Daily Journal of Commerce's list of the top biggest construction projects in Oregon for 2006. Crescent Village "is already being earmarked as a project that will change the face of development in Eugene," the journal trumpeted in the June issue of its Commerce magazine. Arlie officials acknowledge that the company took a risk with this project, building a dense, diverse urban neighborhood in a community long accustomed to traditional subdivisions. But the company clearly believes it will find a market for its idea, and area banks appear to agree. Scott Diehl, Arlie's chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. , declined to discuss the financing of Crescent Village, but county records indicate that the firm has taken out a total of $21 million in lines of credit for commercial construction with Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC TYO: 8648 ) is the largest commercial bank in the United States in terms of deposits, and the largest company of its kind in the world. , Siuslaw Bank and Umpqua Bank. Well under way, the first phase includes 40 units of three-story detached town homes and two four-story "town center" buildings with retail space on the first floor and three floors of apartments above - just over 100 units total in both buildings - ranging in size from studios to three-bedroom luxury units. Apartment units will be ready for move-in during October. Sadie Dressekie, Arlie's marketing manager, said a property management company, HSC HSC - High Speed Connect , began talking last week to about 150 people who had indicated an interest in renting in the village. Arlie spun off the townhome construction to Oregon Estates, owned by Eugene developers Todd and Jill Bardwell, who teamed up with fellow builder Chad Ruhoff to build the townhomes. "We don't do single-family development; our focus is much more on commercial," Dressekie said. The townhomes, ranging from 2,300 to 2,700 square feet, went on the market in March, with prices starting at $485,000. Businesses are scheduled to open in October, including a coffee shop, sushi bar Noun 1. sushi bar - a bar where sushi is served bar - a counter where you can obtain food or drink; "he bought a hot dog and a coke at the bar" , rugs and interior store, ethnic food restaurant, fine dining restaurant, wine bar, gelateria, gourmet pizza restaurant, bank, spa and two women's clothing outlets. Dressekie declined to name them specifically - competing commercial centers "have been known to poach poach damage caused to sodden pasture by the hooves of cattle and sheep. In clay soils and when the ground is sufficiently wet the damage caused by a heavy stocking rate of sheep may be very high. Said also of the take-off in front of a jump in an equitation course or a race. ," attempting to lure prospects away from Crescent Village, she said. But, she added, letters of intent have been signed on about 60 percent of the retail spaces, with leases under negotiation. Plans also call for a 50,000-square-foot grocery store, which will serve not only residents of Crescent Village but will help to draw people from nearby northeast Eugene neighborhoods into the development, Dressekie said. Construction of the grocery store will be part of the project's second phase, she said, but declined to name a grocer. Phase two also will add 24 tandem row houses row houses npl (US) → casas fpl adosadas facing the town homes, two more commercial buildings - one with housing and the other with offices above the first-floor retail- as well as some condominium condominium In modern property law, individual ownership of one dwelling unit within a multidwelling building. Unit owners have undivided ownership interest in the land and those portions of the building shared in common. units. All together, Crescent Village has been approved for up to 631 housing units, said Teresa Bishow, a longtime planner for the city of Eugene and now Arlie's planning manager. Also 10 acres in size, the second phase has a total estimated value of $70 million, Dressekie said. The remaining 20 acres of the project will be developed later, based on future market analysis, she said. From a city planning city planning, process of planning for the improvement of urban centers in order to provide healthy and safe living conditions, efficient transport and communication, adequate public facilities, and aesthetic surroundings. point of view, Crescent Village is a dream come true, a from-the-ground-up mixed-use development Mixed-use development refers to the practice of allowing more than one type of use in a building or set of buildings. In planning zone terms, this can mean some combination of residential, commercial, industrial, office, institutional, or other land uses. that furthers the city's goals of encouraging neighborhoods that allow people to work, shop and pursue recreational activities close to where they live. In pre-automobile eras, nodal Having to do with nodes. See node. NODAL - Interpreted language implemented on Norsk Data's NORD-10 computers. Used by CERN and DESY high energy physics labs to control their accelerator hardware, PADAC and SEDAC. Included trackball input, graphics. development happened naturally, with basic stores and services aggregating where they were needed to serve surrounding populations. But the ability to drive long distances changed everything, leading to long commutes to far-flung bedroom communities, with shopping and services available at strip malls strip mall n. A shopping complex containing a row of various stores, businesses, and restaurants that usually open onto a common parking lot. Noun 1. or large regional shopping centers shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into . In an effort to reverse those trends, Lane County and the cities of Eugene and Springfield identified several desirable mixed-use, or nodal, development areas in their jointly adopted metropolitan-area TransPlan. As part of the Chad Employment Area mixed-use center, Crescent Village most closely fulfills the goals of high-density residential use, commercial diversity and alternatives to automobile transportation, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Eugene city planners. "I remember when I came to Eugene five years ago, it cost me $15 to fill the tank with gas, and now it's closer to $40," Dressekie said. "People can't afford to spend so much time and money in their cars anymore - if they can walk downtown or down the street for the things they want, it's much more pleasant." At the same time, people still value the traditional "main street" experience, and that atmosphere has been a driving force behind the concept of Crescent Village, said Gregory Brokaw, principal along with John Rowell in Rowell Brokaw Architects, designers of the project. A land use planning
Land use planning is the term used for a branch of public policy which encompasses various disciplines which seek to order and regulate the use of land in an efficient and ethical way. firm did the "bird's-eye view bird's-eye view Noun 1. a view seen from above 2. a general or overall impression of something bird's-eye view n → vista de pájaro " of the project, laying out the main commercial street and the pattern of adjacent streets, Brokaw said, "but that doesn't go into the building design or the relationships between the buildings and the people who will use them." The main challenge at Crescent Village is to create the intimate appeal of a classic main street while minimizing the negative effects of driving and parking, Brokaw said. "The two concepts had to work together, because realistically we know that many people aren't really going to live and work in the same place." They solved the problem by putting tenant parking underneath the apartment buildings and locating general parking behind the retail businesses, with walkways through the buildings to the main street, which will be flanked by wide, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, Brokaw said. "We're trying to take all the places that people love to go, figure out why and try to make that happen here," he said. Dressekie said that Arlie's willingness to develop the massive Crescent Village project on speculation shows the company's confidence in the desirability of the mixed-use concept. "We did a tremendous amount of market research - face-to-face meetings as well as extensive telephone interviews - talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to people about how they want to live and what they want in their neighborhoods," she said. "We used the information we got to come up not only with housing plans but even the type of retail to look for, based on what people actually want and will move to a neighborhood to find." The speculative nature of Crescent Village doesn't surprise commercial real estate broker John Brown, principal in Evans Elder Brown. "I think it's such a unique and dynamic product that (Arlie) has to demonstrate what it is before people will accept it," Brown said. "It's kind of like a 'Field of Dreams' idea - build it and they will come." Much of Eugene's in-migration consists of people with money coming from other parts of the country where compact development of the Crescent Village sort already is a way of life, he said. "I think it will be successful - I think it will do OK." WHO'S BEHIND CRESCENT VILLAGE Owner/developer: Arlie & Company Architect: Rowell Brokaw Architects General Contractor A general contractor is an organization or individual that contracts with another organization or individual (the owner) for the construction of a building, road or any other execution of work or facility. : Gale Roberts Construction Town home builders: Oregon Estates, Ruhoff Home Builders Row house builder: Pacific Crest Rock Builders (Zool.) any species of animal whose remains contribute to the formation of rocks, especially the corals and Foraminifera. See also: Rock Landscape architecture: Kate McGee - Arlie & Company PHASE 1 Town homes and row houses: 40 town homes, 24 row houses Apartments: 102 units; rents $600 to $3,000 per month Retail space: 18,000 square feet Total acreage: 10 acres of a total 40-acre project Value: $53 million - Arlie & Company |
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