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City councilors directed staff to draft detailed rules for the $2 million pilot program. It would offer financial help to property owners and businesses that want to make improvements to buildings in the city center.
The city of Eugene is crafting a $2 million five-year pilot program that would fund downtown building improvements with the goal of boosting business and reducing vacant storefronts.
Under the proposed program, applicants like downtown building owners, property managers, tenants or third-party project managers could receive grants of up to $250,000 each for permanent building improvements — from renovations to elevator installations.
Eugene city councilors, who govern Eugene’s Urban Renewal Agency, directed city staff Wednesday, June 24, to draft resolutions, including detailed program rules, for a future vote. Should the council approve the resolutions, the city would begin accepting grant applications.
“It’s going to be a very, very beneficial project for our downtown,” said Councilor Eliza Kashinsky, who represents the neighborhood.
A total of $2 million from the city’s urban renewal districts — $1.5 million from downtown and $500,000 from the Riverfront — will fund the pilot. In those districts, the city’s Urban Renewal Agency can use future growth in property tax revenue to finance redevelopment projects.
Grant funds would cover a maximum of 70% of project costs. The building owner — or the owner and the business tenant together — would pay the remainder.
To be eligible, properties must be located in a part of downtown that includes all of the Downtown Urban Renewal District and the westernmost portion of the Riverfront District.
“It’s the part of town that has the most challenges,” said Economic Development Manager Anne Fifield.
Projects must also support long-term commercial occupancy to be eligible. Specifically, the projects must comply with one of four requirements: ground-floor activation, energy efficiency, increasing downtown employment and “emphasizing financial, cultural, entrepreneurial, or civic opportunities for marginalized populations.”
Development Analyst Dylan Huber-Heidorn gave a few examples of grant-eligible projects: adding a fume hood to a potential restaurant space; fitting a future gathering space with a fire suppression system; or updating an office space to attract a regional or national employer.
Properties supported by grant funds must be open to minors during a “significant portion” of regular business hours, ruling out grant funding for projects at dispensaries, bars that aren’t open as a restaurant during parts of the day, or other “adult uses.”
Other ineligible uses would be equipment or furniture that could be moved to other locations; new construction projects; and properties with open city-code-compliance cases that would remain unresolved by the project.
“These are improvements that add long-term value to downtown building stock that could benefit multiple future business tenants,” he said.
The program includes a storefront repair subprogram that would award smaller grants, up to $3,000, to support time-sensitive repairs like broken or etched windows, doors, locks, fences, gates and signs.
Should the council approve the program, there will be a “major push” to spread awareness, including about how the pilot complements Eugene’s existing downtown loan program, Huber-Heidorn said. He added that the program must be “administratively quick” to function effectively for businesses searching for a space.
“The difference between not having [a tenant improvement program] and having one is that it could make or break whether a business comes into your community,” said City Manager Jenny Haruyama, drawing on her experience with a similar program in Beaverton.
Councilor Randy Groves emphasized the need to bring owners of vacant properties to the table.
“Say, ‘Look, we’re going to start working on this,’ and see what we can do to help them get those places filled, and if not, what we can do on the coercion end,” he said. “The bottom line is you have a carrot, but we need a stick to follow it up with.”
Councilor Matt Keating asked city staff for a map of vacant and underutilized properties downtown, which they didn’t have on hand. If the pilot doesn’t “pan out,” he voiced interest in being more “heavy-handed” by exploring a vacancy tax.
“We do have data showing just the trends in vacancy over time, and as part of implementing this program, we would look to fill in some of those gaps in our information about where exactly the vacant spaces are, where they’re concentrated, what their nature is,” Huber-Heidorn said.
