Development of Eugene’s Butterfly Lot, next to the Lane County Farmers Market Pavilion, is on the horizon.

Paradigm Properties founder Dan Neal last week shared with the Downtown Neighborhood Association preliminary plans for the 0.67-acre parcel. The project — tentatively named The Butterfly, in reference to the parcel — would include 80 to 100 market-rate dwellings ranging from studios to two-bedroom units with a den, all with decks, he said.

The building could be between eight and 12 stories tall to accommodate the number of units, Neal said. Retail space and restaurant space are expected on the ground floor.

The building would be L-shaped to create a plaza and connect the space with the pavilion next door.

Developers have been talking with market leaders about the possibility of including an on-site office space for them. Plans so far include some underground parking for tenants.

The property has been in flux since the city purchased the lot in 2018 for construction of a new City Hall there.

In 2021, the Lane County Farmers Market Pavilion was built at 85 E. Eighth Ave. on part of the Butterfly Lot. Now that City Hall has relocated to the former EWEB headquarters, Amanda D’Souza, development programs manager for the city of Eugene, said there is an opportunity to rethink the future of this downtown site. Now, the lot’s southern portion houses the farmers market, and the northern portion serves as a surface lot.

In spring 2025, the city changed zoning for the property to allow for mixed-use developments on the parcel.

“We’ve heard clearly from the community that we need housing, more housing in the downtown core, and so this site is going to make the perfect opportunity to achieve that goal,” D’Souza said. “Activating a gravel lot, bringing more vitality and energy to the core and the park blocks and increasing the supply of housing.”

Eugene’s Urban Renewal Agency bought the property from the city to lead redevelopment and issued a Request for Qualifications to identify a team that would be able to achieve the goals for the site, D’Souza said. Eugene-based Paradigm Properties was chosen.

Neal said he is hoping community members are excited to see the land gain housing along with a vibrant and active ground floor.

“There hasn’t been a new, market-rate project built in the city of Eugene’s downtown urban core in over a quarter of a century,” Neal said. “In fact, I heard from city staff that you have to go back 50 years to find any market-rate housing project in the core of downtown that didn’t receive some financial support from the city in order to make it financially feasible.”

The total project is expected to cost about $60 million, Neal said. Timelines aren’t firm yet, because the project is still preliminary, but he said construction could begin in about 18 months. Construction may take nearly two years, according to Neal, so completion could occur sometime in 2029.

Funding for this project comes from construction loans, private equity, Eugene’s Urban Renewal Agency. The development qualifies for city assistance via its Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemption and Downtown Fee Assistance programs.

In May, the city plans to release a public survey of the site’s draft proposal for community feedback, D’Souza said. Sometime in June, the Urban Renewal Agency board and City Council are expected to consider the proposal.

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in The Register-Guard and then was distributed on the USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.

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Redevelopment of a church campus is in the works in Northeast Portland. The Western Dominican Province, on behalf of Holy Rosary Church, has requested early assistance with the city to discuss options for four blocks of underutilized property in the Lloyd District.

The property’s management group, the Dominican Friars, has operated in the Lloyd District since 1893. The group envisions a multiphase project – including both affordable and market-rate housing – to improve its parish campus while contributing to the broader effort to reinvigorate investment in the people and infrastructure of Portland, the church stated in a press release.

In 2024, a request for qualifications was issued for the redevelopment of the land. The church and affiliated organizations proffered to prospective developers the land it owns within blocks 62 and 67 for affordable and market-rate housing. From this process, Cairn Pacific was selected to develop the market-rate housing and Gorman & Company was selected to develop the affordable housing.

The conceptual plan also includes the improvement of church facilities on blocks 68 and 211. Urbanist Housing Solutions LLC of Vancouver, Washington is the owner’s representative working on behalf of the Western Dominican Province. The organization, based in Oakland, California, is a faith formation and financial partner with each local Dominican parish, Kurt Creager, Urbanist Housing Solutions LLC’s president and founder, stated in an email. Friars are assigned to preach and administer in each parish. When financial support is needed, the group provides necessary assistance.

In 2022, Father Corwin Low (a former tech entrepreneur) recommended the church and the Western Dominican Province be more proactive in managing their commercial real estate assets, Creager stated. The goal was to maximize value to the community and create a sustainable financial endowment to support and enhance local church activities. The church established a property steering committee in 2022, with parishioners in the design, finance, construction and development professions to advise on strategy and industry best practices, Creager stated.

“Strategically, we plan on leading with affordable housing,” Creager stated in regard to plans for the site. “The affordable housing financing path, while never easy, is less fraught than market-rate housing, presently.”

The land, with one owner, allows for a “consolidated building” approach, according to Creager, in which the affordable units provided by Gorman & Company on Block 62 will satisfy the city’s inclusionary housing obligation for Cairn Pacific’s work on Block 67. By starting with affordable housing, there will be time for the market to recover and interest rates to moderate, enabling market-rate housing to proceed later, according to Creager.

For the first phase – affordable housing on Block 62 – two options will be presented to the city. The first is for a four-story building with ground-floor amenity/lobby space and both tuck-under and surface parking. The second option is for a seven-story building with ground-floor amenity/lobby space, ground-floor housing units and an adjacent parking structure with ground-floor retail space and top-floor amenity space.

The Miracles Central Apartments, on the southwest corner of the block, is not owned by the Western Dominican Province and will remain.

The project’s second phase would be replacement of the church’s educational, gathering and office spaces, adjoining the church sanctuary, on Block 68. A new three-story building and private courtyard would be constructed in their place.

The third phase – market-rate housing on Block 67 – would come in a 12-story building with ground-floor amenity/lobby space and above-grade structured parking.

The fourth and final phase would target Block 211. Plans call for construction of a seven-story building with ground-floor amenity/retail space and structured parking.

A 7-11 convenience store and associated parking, on the northwest corner of the block, are not owned by the Western Dominican Province and will remain.

Holst Architecture has worked with the church organization on the conceptual design of each phase. Gorman & Company and Cairn Pacific will need to select their preferred architect of record to take their respective sites forward into schematic design, construction documents and plan sets. No decisions have been made in that regard.

Walsh Construction is providing some preconstruction services to Gorman & Company for the affordable housing project. Both developers will need to select their preferred contractor.

Construction is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2027 for the affordable housing on Block 62 with completion in 2028 and then start in 2030 for the market-rate housing on Block 67 with completion in 2032. Factors such as system development charge waivers offered by Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Gov. Tina Kotek could accelerate the market-rate schedule, Creager stated.

The Western Dominican Province applied for early assistance on Sept. 3; a meeting has not been scheduled yet.

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