George Diamond says he’d like to continue building units at Edgewater Village near Albany’s Willamette riverfront. And now he can. The advisory board of CARA, the downtown urban renewal district, Wednesday approved a change in a loan agreement that will allow the developer to obtain millions in private bank financing to continue construction.
Enough about the weather! Let’s consider, instead, Albany’s urban renewal effort, which has been inching along ever so slowly for years and, despite considerable achievements so far, remains far from reaching its stated goals.
Half a dozen blocks of downtown streets are going to be dressed up to make them look similar to First Avenue at a cost of $1.4 million, according to what I heard about a decision by the Central Albany Revitalization Area advisory board.
If people have gotten lost and turned up missing in search for the sights of downtown Albany, I’m not aware of it. But just in case, the downtown urban renewal program is going to put up “wayfinding” signs.
Albany’s downtown renewal program hopes that loans of a few thousand dollars will encourage people to buy severely blighted houses dating from 1945 or earlier in the east-side historic district, spend at least $40,000 on renovations, and commit themselves to live there as owners. And if they wanted to renovate the exterior, they’d have to […]
Edgewater Village is a planned residential neighborhood that everyone hopes will rejuvenate Albany’s riverfront on the Willamette. The hope is there, along with new sewer lines and new streets, but the first house has yet to be started. The public has an interest because CARA, the city’s urban renewal program, has spent $2.4 million on […]
CARA, Albany’s downtown renewal program, wants to complete what it started. That’s why on Thursday, the advisory board of the Central Albany Revitalization Area voted unanimously to authorize that designs be prepared of streetscape improvements along segments of Water, Second and Third avenues as well as Lyon and Ellsworth streets.
If Albany gets to build a new police headquarters and replace the downtown fire station in the next few years, chances are those projects will get some of the city’s urban renewal money to reduce the burden on city taxpayers, at least a little.
CARA, Albany’s downtown urban renewal program, this week is beginning to see tangible results from two of the biggest projects it has supported with financial aid. It also faces the tough call of whether to extend and perhaps even forgive a $200,000 loan whose terms call for it to be repaid now.
CARA’s interested if Eagles sell
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.
Tags: Albany Eagles, Albany urban renewal, CARA