Mayor Knutson challenges Eugene to build 1,000 downtown housing units in five years

Mayor Karen Knutson announced a goal for the City of Eugene to build 1,000 new housing units in downtown Eugene over the next five years, including at least 200 units in the downtown core, saying the target will require changes to city processes, identification of development sites and new partnerships with private and affordable housing developers.

Knoxnton said the downtown challenge is intended to double the city's current housing production rate and to re‑populate the city center to support local businesses and public life. "We need to build a 1000 new units of housing in downtown in the next 5 years. And we need at least 200 of those units to be in the downtown core," Mayor Knutson said during her State of the City address.

The mayor framed the challenge as a three‑pronged strategy: identify multiple new development sites each year; reform permitting, cost and timing processes to reduce development costs; and align city resources and public‑safety support to make downtown more attractive to residents and investors. Knutson said the city will work with both market‑rate and affordable housing developers and seek to pair regulatory changes with targeted funding tools already in place, including the city's Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Knutson cited recent middle‑housing code reforms as an example of policy change that produced more housing without direct public funding: she said the reforms are on track to spur roughly $50,000,000 in new housing investment and that recent changes are producing about 100 new housing units per year across the city. She said downtown still has lower residential density than many neighborhoods and that adding residents is the key to revitalizing the city center.

The mayor asked council and staff to pursue site identification, process reforms and resource alignment and to report back on plans to meet the target. Knutson said the work will require coordination with the city council and with developers, and that public safety enhancements downtown are part of the strategy. She described the 1,000‑unit goal as a citywide priority rather than a single funding program or ordinance passed at the meeting.

Implementation details, financing sources and timelines for specific projects were not specified during the address. Knutson said the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and other strategic resources would be part of the toolkit but did not announce new appropriations or council motions at the event.

The mayor's announcement follows earlier city actions to encourage housing production and comes alongside other local initiatives addressing homelessness, shelter and affordable housing that she highlighted in the same address.