A downtown Eugene building that's been empty since 2012 is finally coming down, and something a lot bigger is going up in its place.
On Sept. 30, the City of Eugene and a development team led by deChase Miksis and Edlen & Co. closed on the deal to redevelop the former Lane Community College Downtown Center at 1059 Willamette St. According to the city's project page, the property was transferred to the developers, demolition was set to start that week, and construction is slated to begin this winter. The build is expected to take 19 months, with completion anticipated in spring 2028.
The project is a $38.3 million, six-story building with 133 apartments. Sixty-eight will be income-qualified for households earning up to 80% of area median income, and they'll stay affordable for 35 years. The other 65 will be market-rate. Ten units will be set aside for survivors of domestic violence through a partnership with Hope and Safety Alliance, a local nonprofit. The building will be all-electric and include ground-floor commercial space and a public art gallery.
It's the city's first mixed-income project.
Five years in the making
The city bought the building from LCC in 2020 with federal Community Development Block Grant money, which requires the site to be used for housing and at least 51% of the units to be affordable at or below 80% of area median income. The city put out a request for proposals that fall, and the deChase Miksis and Edlen & Co. team was the only one to respond.
Getting from there to a closing took a while. The city's page lays out the familiar problems: high interest rates, high construction costs and an unpredictable market made financing hard, even with public help.
The city's financial help grew along the way. The original request for proposals offered about $1.1 million. That rose to $1.84 million in 2024, when the City Council also approved a multi-unit property tax exemption for the project. In June, the city's Urban Renewal Agency board voted unanimously to add up to $8.66 million more from downtown urban renewal funds. Altogether, the city and agency are investing $10.5 million: about $10.1 million in urban renewal money and about $400,000 from the moderate-income housing fee collected through the city's tax exemption program. The land went to the developers at no cost.
Amanda D'Souza, the city's development programs manager, told KLCC that the closing means the team has secured all the financing it needs. "The permits are all ready," she said.
KLCC reported that deconstruction was underway inside the building, which is now fenced off, with the plan to have it torn down by the end of 2026 and new construction starting in the new year.
D'Souza said it's one of the first new housing projects in the downtown core in more than a decade. "We're really hoping this is going to be kind of the start of a wave in the right, positive direction of downtown development," she said.
What's going up
The site sits across the street from the Lane Transit District bus station and about a mile from the University of Oregon campus. According to the city, the design is meant to fit the scale and character of the historic buildings nearby on Willamette Street, and the ground floor will offer incubator retail spaces with shared common areas at below-market rent. A lobby gallery and mural wall are also planned, and the building is designed to be certified under the Earth Advantage green building program.
Equity financing came from MSquared, a New York-based firm that focuses on mixed-income projects.
Neighbors should expect some minor traffic and on-street parking impacts on 11th Avenue and Willamette Street during construction, the city said. A formal groundbreaking is planned for later this winter.
Neither the city nor KLCC names a general contractor.
Why it matters for Contractors
This is a fully financed, fully permitted downtown job. Demolition and deconstruction come first, then a six-story, all-electric building with commercial space on the ground floor. That means work for demolition and hauling crews now, followed by foundations, structure, all-electric MEP, envelope, finishes and storefront work over a 19-month build. Earth Advantage certification adds documentation and testing. Watch for the developers to name a builder and put out bid packages this winter. If this project is the "start of a wave," as the city hopes, more downtown housing work could follow.