Eugene's Whiteaker Commons construction closes sidewalks, limits parking for 120-unit project

Crews building Whiteaker Commons have closed sidewalks and imposed no‑parking zones on sections of Adams Street while work progresses at 890 W. Fifth Ave., the former paid Diamond parking lot in the Whiteaker neighborhood. City of Eugene Road Work Advisories show no parking on the west side of Adams Street between West Fifth and Sixth avenues and no parking on the east side from West Fifth Alley north; West Fifth Alley is closed from Monroe Street to Adams Street. Vehicle access to the Red Apple Market from Adams Street remains open.

Whiteaker Commons is planned as a five‑story, 120‑unit affordable apartment building with 66 studio units, 40 one‑bedroom units and 14 two‑bedroom units. The development is targeted to households earning up to 60% of area median income - about $44,000 a year for a two‑person family - and will include an open courtyard, dog washing area, community room or rooms, bike parking and on‑site resident social services provided by Cornerstone Community Housing. Project partners named for the build include Red Apple, LLC; Red Apple Square LLC; and Red Apple Development, with Meili Construction as general contractor and BDA Architects as architect. Gary Meili, president of Meili Construction, said, “These are going to be very well‑built and would rival many market‑rate apartments. They tend to be a little bit smaller but with a focus on durability and sustainability.”

Representatives took part in a ceremonial groundbreaking on Dec. 1, 2025, and construction was reported to have begun late last year. Project representatives say the development is expected to be completed within 18 months of that groundbreaking, placing occupancy around spring 2027; other timelines cited by local project notices list spring 2027 as the target opening and application start window. The project was discussed at a Whiteaker Community Council meeting on Jan. 15, where attendees were also briefed on permitting status.

Traffic and pedestrian changes are already in effect for short stretches near the site while work continues. The specific closures in the final week of February included the no‑parking strips on Adams Street and the alley closure between Monroe and Adams, and City advisories note those road work notices are updated weekly as the contractor phases activity. Crews have kept vehicle access to the adjacent Red Apple Market open during the closures.

Parking is the major point of neighborhood concern. The initial site plan shows just 10 on‑site parking spaces for 120 units, prompting questions at community meetings about spillover onto surrounding streets. Whiteaker resident Daniel Williams asked, “These hundreds of people are not going to give up their cars. Is there any reason to believe that there are 200 additional parking spots on the corner of Fifth? Where are these guys going to park?” Project adviser Jason Lear said the site’s transit access and walkability will factor into parking demand, noting, “This is one of the areas that people most want to live in the city because it’s so close to so many things and it’s so good for transit, biking, walking and rolling wherever you need to go.” Looked at in policy terms, the Climate‑Friendly and Equitable Communities program adopted in 2022 removed parking mandates for developments like Whiteaker Commons, a reason project planners cite for the small on‑site parking count.

Funding and subsidy sources named for the project include Oregon Housing and Community Services and the City of Eugene’s Low‑Income Rental Housing Property Tax Exemptions, though exact subsidy amounts have not been published. Whiteaker Commons planners expect to begin accepting resident applications in spring 2027 as construction continues and neighborhood impacts such as sidewalk closures and limited street parking persist during the build.