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Loan means renewal for Medford By JESSICA SMITH A $600,000 low-interest loan from the state means urban renewal officials will get exactly the kind of building they want on Main and Eighth streets. The loan is part of a $5 million award program unveiled Wednesday by Gov. John Kitzhaber. Medford Urban Renewal is one of 14 communities that will receive money from the Community Incentive Fund, a lottery-backed grant and loan program for downtown revitalization projects. The $600,000 loan granted to Medford will be used in the development of an $18 million mixed-use complex that will combine housing, offices, retail and parking. Revenue from the housing, office and retail components would be used to repay the state loan, which will accrue 1 percent interest. The loan will be applied to construction of the commercial elements, said Don Burt, urban renewal director. The money will allow urban renewal officials to include all the architectural elements envisioned and may help keep rents low, he said. "It'll be put to very good use," Burt added. "We're trying to level the playing field and make this a competitive project." Plans include a publicly owned, 396-space parking garage, and privately owned office/retail and retail/residential structures at the old Winetrout site on Main and Eighth streets. Design schemes call for 40,000 square feet of office space, 21,000 square feet of retail space and 34 to 36 apartments totaling another 33,350 square feet. Some of the units would be set aside as affordable housing for lower-income families. According to Burt, bids from developers are due Thursday. He said urban renewal officials plan to select a developer in mid-May, though construction isn't expected to begin before spring 2002. Christin Smith, a state community development spokeswoman, said urban renewal's efforts to revitalize downtown and increase the amount of affordable housing in the urban core made the Winetrout project a good match for the Community Incentive Fund. "The money is meant to get good projects on the ground," Smith said. Requests totaling $32 million were sent to the governor's office, she said, adding that Kitzhaber plans to ask the Oregon Legislature to increase the incentive fund to $35 million for the next biennium. Reach reporter Jessica Smith at 776-4481, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.