Mixed-use project planned for Butterfly Lot in downtown Eugene

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.

Mixed-use project planned for Butterfly Lot in downtown Eugene

Comments