Albany is getting ready to pick a firm of consultants to design a remake of the city’s Willamette riverfront from Washington Street in the west to Main Street in the east.
The city of Albany’s urban renewal agency is buying a building within its district without saying publicly which one. But it’s not the Eagles club at Broadalbin Street and Water Avenue, which is no longer for sale.
So what comes next for CARA, the central Albany urban renewal district? Mayor Sharon Konopa has an idea, and she mentioned it Saturday at the completion ceremony of the city’s two-year downtown streetscape project.
On a stroll in downtown Albany the other evening, the buildings on this corner caught my eye. They show off the efforts of downtown owners to upgrade their buildings with the help of urban renewal.
Now that the downtown streetscape project is winding down, Albany’s urban renewal agency will have to decide what to do next. One potential idea: Put on a push to improve the neighborhood east of Lyon Street by rebuilding the streets and upgrading the houses that need it.
If the Albany Eagles lodge comes up for sale, the city’s urban renewal agency would be interested. That’s the gist of a discussion among members of the Central Albany Revitalization Area advisory board Wednesday night.
CARA on Wells Fargo project: Keep going
No surprise here: A proposal to redevelop the former Wells Fargo branch downtown will need financial help from CARA, the Albany urban renewal program. And the CARA board appears ready to give it, though no specific dollar amount has yet been asked.
Tags: Albany urban renewal, CARA, downtown Albany, Wells Fargo