Document text
Buildings fall for renewal project photo by Bob Pennell Construction won�t begin for another year, but Medford Urban Renewal already is preparing a lot on West Main and Fir streets for a planned commercial-residential complex. Demolition work on existing buildings began earlier this month and should wrap up in mid-October. Don Burt, urban renewal director, said the agency hoped to accelerate construction of the new building but could not come to terms with the developer signed on for the project. "We agreed to disagree early on," Burt said of the failed negotiations. "We want to get the right project and the right developer to do it." The developer proposed building one structure that would combine residential and commercial uses with a multilevel parking garage. Urban renewal, however, wants two buildings. One would combine office and retail space. A second structure would provide three floors of parking and two floors of housing with ground-level retail space fronting a new boulevard proposed for along the railroad tracks. In August, a Medford accounting firm being courted as a tenant for the new complex expressed doubts about urban renewal�s plans to mix residential and professional space in one building. Costs and logistics, however, led the agency to settle on the two-building idea, Burt said. Urban renewal is moving ahead with its plans, spending $72,000 to tear down buildings on the lot. Once demolition is complete, the agency must remove two oil tanks from the site. Design and engineering work could take about a year, Burt said, meaning construction won�t start until fall of 2001. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA