Eugene, Oregon

Since the 1960s, downtowns across the nation have faced economic challenges as people began moving to and shopping in suburban areas rather than the city center. In 2000, Eugene citizens began working on a vision to revitalize downtown with mixed-use developments, downtown markets, cultural events and plans for a Downtown Public Library (completed in 2005), among other projects.

"Creating a strong, vibrant downtown requires the energy, focus and commitment of many parts of the community," says Jon Ruiz, Eugene city manager. "The City of Eugene is bringing those people and groups together to re-energize our downtown."

Downtown Eugene is already bustling, thanks to its one-of-a-kind shops and restaurants, excellent rapid-transit bus line, Saturday Market and farmers' markets, and proximity to the Willamette River, Skinner's Butte and Alton Baker Park. There's also a burgeoning entertainment district with the Hult Center for the Performing Arts and community events such as Eugene Celebration and the Summer in the City concert series that draws more than 3,000 spectators downtown.

But city officials, business owners and citizens long for more. A survey conducted by the city in 2009 found that 88 percent of Eugene citizens thought economic development downtown was important, and 75 percent thought it should be a priority.

"We know people care about our downtown and want to see improvements," says Mike Sullivan, division manager of Eugene's Community Development Department. "But we also need to know which projects they would like to see the city support. Through open houses, outreach events and our Web site, we hope to share information about downtown revitalization opportunities and collect feedback for the city council to consider. We also want to engage more people in the discussion by having multiple ways to participate, whether in person or online."

That's why the city created Vibrant Eugene, a special section of the city's Web site used for sharing information on proposed downtown projects and listening to what people think. One such project is the creation of a Lane Community College downtown campus with a new 80,000-square-foot academic building across from the Downtown Public Library. Although it is still in the early stages of development, the project is expected to be a total investment of $25 to $35 million and result in hundreds of temporary construction jobs, 150 permanent jobs downtown and at least six job programs training 8,000 students per year.

Other projects that the city council is considering include a Veterans Affairs Clinic downtown, safety and parking improvements downtown, and green infrastructure. Portland-based Beam Development is also remodeling the Centre Court building at Willamette and Broadway into incubator space for small businesses.