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CLEAR Temp: 67 °F Wind: NW at 7 mph Sunday, June 2, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Cyberchef E The People Golf Job Network Headbone Zone Wellness Connection Movie Times Newspaper in Education Oregon CarZone Outdoor Journal Personals Prime Times Real Estate Tempo A & E TV Times W3 Magazine CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Destinations Automotive Communities Employment Entertainment Publications Real Estate Recreation Shopping Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Jobs @ Mail Tribune Email Story to a Friend June 2, 2002 Landlord says MURA needs to do study Medford property owner says the agency should evaluate the Winetrout project’s impact on downtown before spending public money By MELISSA MARTIN Mail Tribune Medford Urban Renewal Agency should study the impact that 90,000 square feet of office space would have on local property owners before it continues negotiations with a Washington developer in the Winetrout project, a downtown landlord says. "Before the government goes out and spends public money, they need to do economic and social impact studies," said Bill Ferguson, who is suing the agency, its nine board members and the executive director. The case is set for a declaratory judgment hearing at 3 p.m. Monday in Courtroom 2 in the Justice Building. Ferguson owns six buildings in downtown Medford, including one recently vacated by Moss Adams, an accounting firm that was considering moving into the Winetrout building proposed at Main and Fir streets. Moss Adams moved to the Lausmann Business Center last month because the Winetrout project was delayed. One of Ferguson’s buildings is at 201 E. Main St., a block from Winetrout. A tenant on the upper floor, Department of Environmental Quality, has indicated it may eventually move to Winetrout. "We think MURA should do the study and see if there is a need for that much office space and see if it would adversely impact downtown and cause blight," Ferguson said. MURA recently commissioned a study about housing needs and rent values in Medford, said Executive Director Don Burt. He will present the study to the board when the final draft is complete. While Ferguson is the only plaintiff named in the lawsuit, several Medford property owners are sending money to his attorney, Charles Corrigan of Ramis Crew Corrigan and Hachrach in Portland, he said. Ferguson said he doesn’t know who his financial backers are or how much money they are contributing to the lawsuit. "They want to go unnamed because they have building projects going on, and they are afraid of retaliation," Ferguson said. "The government can do that." Property owners shouldn’t fear retaliation, Burt said. "City government doesn’t operate that way — they are too professional to do that," Burt said. MURA has been negotiating with Battle Ground, Wash., developer Greg Bessert of KCS Development Inc. to build a six-story, mixed-used building. MURA would build the parking garage, move the sewer line and do the streetscape at a cost of about $9 million, while the developer would invest about $11 million in the office/condominium/retail shop portion. "The developer could walk away at any moment," Burt said. "There is no binding contract here. We haven’t signed anything that says, ‘We’re going to build this.’ " Bessert said earlier this week he has engineers and designers waiting to move forward with the project when the lawsuit is over. Medford doesn’t need Winetrout’s office space right now, a real estate appraiser said. The newest major office space at the Lausmann Business Center on Stewart Avenue still needs tenants, and several downtown buildings sit empty, including Blue Cross/Blue Shield’s former location on Main Street and Moss Adams’ old site on Sixth Street, said appraiser Bill Miller. "The funding for MURA comes from increases in taxes within its boundary over the originating date of the agency," Miller said. "They have a special responsibility to Medford taxpayers, including the development community, to make sure they are not screwing up a part of the market with any development they get involved with." "Winetrout became commerce, basically at the expense of commerce," Miller said. "If they would have talked about a 20,000-square-foot building, you’d probably see it up and nobody would have said much." Shopping for office space in downtown Medford might be like shopping for a car and finding only Volkswagens on the lot, MURA board member Skip Knight said during the January meeting when Ferguson presented his opposition to Winetrout. "Someone might want a Cadillac instead," Knight said. Circuit Court Judge Phil Arnold will hear the Winetrout case Monday. In a case two years ago, Arnold ruled in Ferguson’s favor when Ferguson sued Phoenix High School for ousting his son as student body president for possessing marijuana on school property. The Oregon Supreme Court later reversed Arnold’s decision, ruling in favor of the Phoenix School District. Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S