Urban renewal agency targets Northeast Aspen Avenue; $5.2 million construction budget, right-of-way acquisitions underway

At its Urban Renewal Agency meeting, staff presented a restructured budget that breaks downtown, north and southwest districts into separate funds and highlighted a $5.2 million construction allocation for Northeast Aspen Avenue in the North district.

Agency staff said the Northeast Aspen Avenue project will connect the Home Depot driveway east along the canal and meet Aspen Avenue at Northeast Fourth Street. The project also includes street improvements on Northeast North Street (the gravel section behind Burger King and Popeye's) and right-of-way purchases from private owners, including Good Shepherd and a private investor. Staff reported that appraisals are complete and that right-of-way acquisition should proceed in the next month or two.

"We're hoping for bidding this summer after the right-of-way is acquired," staff said, but noted that bidding could be pushed to winter to secure better contractor pricing; staff continued to expect construction completion in 2026. The plan includes a potential signal at Highway 395, but that signal would be installed only if traffic warrants are met after adjacent commercial development generates intersection traffic; the signal will require an ODOT deviation due to spacing constraints.

The agency also approved an accounting change to allocate previously pooled tax-increment revenue into separate funds for each district to improve transparency and comply with state urban-renewal budgeting laws. The agency voted to approve the revised budget and the fund-splitting approach during the meeting.