The fenced-off, long-vacant former Lane Community College downtown center at 1059 Willamette St. is finally headed for demolition, after the City of Eugene and developers closed on a deal to replace it with a 133-unit mixed-income housing project. The site sits directly across from the downtown Eugene Lane Transit District bus station, and deconstruction work is already underway inside the old building.
A Deal Years in the Making
The city and developers closed on the project on Sept. 30, 2026, according to KLCC. The development team is led by deChase Miksis and Edlen & Company, as reported by KEZI. The City of Eugene purchased the building in 2020 using federal Community Development Block Grant dollars, and Eugene's Amanda D'Zousa said, “We acquired it with the purposes of turning it into housing,” per the same KLCC report.
The permits and financing are now in place to move forward. “The permits are all ready. All is in place,” D'Zousa told the station. The plan calls for the old building to be torn down by the end of 2026, with new construction starting in 2027, the report notes.
What's Replacing the Old LCC Center
The new building will include 133 units total, with 68 income-qualified units for households earning up to 80% of area median income and 65 market-rate units, per KEZI's reporting. Those income-qualified units are set to stay affordable for 35 years, the station notes. Ten units will be reserved for domestic violence survivors through a partnership with Hope & Safety Alliance, according to the same KLCC article.
Because Community Development Block Grant funds were used to buy the property, at least 51% of the units must be offered at HUD income and rent levels for households earning 80% of area median income, according to a city of Eugene housing FAQ. The project will also include ground-floor commercial space, a public art gallery, and all-electric systems, per the KEZI report. A separate Lookout Eugene-Springfield report put the construction cost at $38.7 million, more than 10% above the project's appraised value.
Public Investment and a Decade-Long Vacancy
The downtown urban renewal district and the city of Eugene have put more than $10 million into the project, the station's report states. D'Zousa described the project as a long-term investment in downtown and said it could begin a positive wave of downtown development and activity. KLCC describes the project as one of the first new housing developments in Eugene's downtown core in more than a decade.
Accounts differ on exactly when the site went empty: KLCC states the former Lane Community College downtown center has been vacant since 2012, while the city-owned building has been vacant since 2013. Either way, the building sat empty for close to a decade and a half before the Sept. 30 closing.
Not the First Plan for the Site
This isn't the first vision for 1059 Willamette. A 2021 proposal called for a six-story building with first-floor retail and art space and 129 units, including 66 income-qualified units, according to the Register-Guard's earlier coverage.
As reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting, the project's progress marks a tangible step forward for a site that has sat idle across from Eugene's bus hub for well over a decade, even as other downtown housing proposals remain stuck on the drawing board.
