Caldwell staffseek direction on new urban renewal area to revitalize North End

Caldwell officials and staff on Wednesday reviewed proposals to create a new urban renewal allocation area focused on the city’s North End and central Caldwell, seeking direction on the district’s boundary and a project list that could include sidewalks, streetscape, parking and affordable housing.

The workshop opened with Mike Dittenburg, director of the Caldwell Housing Authority, who reviewed prior neighborhood revitalization efforts and the housing authority’s role in building small-lot and “age-in-place” homes in the North End. “My name is Mike Dittenburg. I’m the director of the Housing Authority for the City of Caldwell,” he said, and he recalled a 2014 resolution and earlier committees that studied the neighborhood’s needs.

The issue matters because urban renewal tools would let the city use tax-increment financing to fund infrastructure and incentive projects in a defined area, while also raising concerns about displacement and long-term affordability. “I would give the commission a thumbs up today to move to move something,” Dittenburg told commissioners, urging action rather than delay.

City staff member Steven Jenkins reviewed maps and a history of prior proposals, saying an initial concept presented in 2023 covered about 80 acres in the downtown core and that subsequent proposals expanded the footprint — in one plan up to…