Downtown urban renewal budget funds housing, parking upgrades and ice-rink study

Urban renewal staff and program managers described how the Downtown Urban Renewal District budgets will support housing, parking and downtown activation programs in FY25–26.

Staff said the downtown housing development fund includes about $1 million budgeted to support an anticipated mixed-use project in the Fifth and Forest area that would combine first-floor commercial space with roughly 25 apartment units above. The housing fund amount is intended to support a project currently in the pipeline and to maintain flexibility for other opportunities.

Urban renewal staff also told the committee the parking fund is allocating resources to address capacity and safety: staff are working with multiple owners to redevelop the Bank of America parking lot to provide clearer public parking and expect roughly 40–45 public parking spaces after improvements. Staff said improving signage and layout will make the lot more useful to downtown patrons.

Staff described an ongoing conceptual/design phase for an ice rink as a family-attraction project being evaluated by the redevelopment opportunity fund; initial design work and funding for further evaluation are in the budget and staff expect to return to the board with more details in the coming months if the concept moves forward.

The downtown business services fund will continue to support the downtown Main Street organization, Enjoy Downtown Redmond, including a full-time director position to coordinate programming, marketing and events; staff said the organization helps sustain activation after capital improvements are completed.

Committee members discussed pedestrian safety and speed on Fifth Street as development increases; staff said they are monitoring conditions and will coordinate pedestrian-safety design treatments as projects proceed.

The Urban Renewal Agency budget was approved on the record during the public hearing portion of the meeting.