MURA shrinks urban renewal area, ends option with Rubicon Edlund and directs staff to craft funding plan for Living Waters seismic work

The Medford Urban Renewal Agency (MURA) board at its July meeting approved three related actions: a minor removal of the Southgate portion of the urban renewal district, termination of an option and purchase agreement with Rubicon Edlund JV LLC, and direction to staff to design a funding approach to support seismic upgrades at 360 E. Jackson St., owned by Living Waters Church. Harry Weiss, MURA project manager, said the proposed boundary change removes an area in Southgate that has completed its redevelopment work and is no longer producing tax increment revenues for the district; the board approved the boundary amendment by roll call, 8–0. The board also authorized termination of an option and purchase agreement covering 711–801 N. Central Ave., a matter raised at a prior study session after the Dolores Huerta project was withdrawn; the resolution to terminate the option passed 8–0. Living Waters Church representatives described a multi‑year rehabilitation of a 38,000‑square‑foot former headquarters building and requested roughly $350,000 to complete seismic retrofit work necessary to reach a larger assembly occupancy (approximately 500 people). Church board member Jerrick Murray said the facility has been used as a community resource (including for recovery and fire‑response functions) and that the seismic work is the final barrier to attracting investors or operators to activate underused space. MURA board members discussed precedent, downtown redevelopment objectives and whether funds should be structured as grants, loans or a mix. Board members asked staff to return with a formal proposal that could include a partial grant and a 0% loan secured by a lien, with acceleration if the property sold to a commercial buyer. Board members noted a prior MURA program that funded sprinkler installations and other adaptive‑rehabilitation work and that most downtown parcels are non‑assessable (non‑taxable) properties, which complicates strict expectations about immediate tax increment return. The board voted 7–0 with one abstention (Mike Kurlinger) to direct staff to prepare the funding agreement and present a formal proposal at the next board meeting. Weiss said staff will draft a formal grant/loan structure for board approval and that the goal is to move quickly to support the project. Speakers and direct quotes are drawn from the meeting record and are listed in the speaker list below.