A building that’s been vacant for almost a decade and a half in downtown Eugene will be torn down over the next few months. In its place, a new mixed-income housing project is planned.
The former Lane Community College downtown center, pictured on Oct. 6, 2026, has been closed for years. A new mixed use housing project is planned in its place.
Macy Moore / KLCC
The former Lane Community College downtown center at 1059 Willamette St. has been vacant since 2012. The City of Eugene purchased the building in 2020 with Federal Community Block Grant dollars.
“We acquired it with the purposes of turning it into housing,” said Amanda D’Zousa, Development Programs Manager at the City of Eugene. She said the use of those federal funds require 51% of the project to be priced at 80% of Area Median Income. “We decided to pilot a mixed-income project.”
She said they put out a request for proposals. They chose developers deChase Miksis and Edlen & Co. about five years ago.
On Sept. 30, 2026, the city and developers closed on the project.
“Which means they secured all the financing they need for the project to move forward,” D’Zousa said. “The permits are all ready. All is in place for us to transfer the building over to the developer which has now happened and for them to start construction.”
They plan to construct a 133-unit mixed use building, with 68 of the apartments priced below market rate. There will also be 10 units set aside for domestic violence survivors in partnership with Hope & Safety Alliance.
D’Zousa said this is 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, downtown activity,” she said. “Just getting more people downtown.”
She said the city sees the project as a long-term investment in downtown.
“The downtown urban renewal district and the city together have put over $10 million into this project,” she said. “We know we need some positive momentum. Housing is so important especially in our downtown and across the city. So we see this as a key project to hit on a lot of our goals and priorities.”
The property is across from the downtown Eugene LTD bus station and is now fenced off. Deconstruction is underway inside the building over the next few months. The plan is for it to be torn down by the end of 2026 with new construction starting in the new year.
Rachael McDonald is a reporter with KLCC. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
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