• Scott Landfield at Tsunami Books says that the longtime bookstore and performance venue has until Jan. 15 to have $302,000 ready to go into an escrow account to secure another 10-year lease on its Willamette Street location. Landfield says, “Tsunami has always been timely on rent, so that is not the issue,” it is more an assurance to the new owners “that we can cover a 220 percent increase in rent.” Landfield continues, “Using a community-wide micro-loan process we have thousands of people involved, have $160,000 in the bank and about another $80,000 pledged our way.” People can contact Landfield at tsunami1@opusnet.com for more info or to donate.
• The Eugene Cohousing Downtown project has been set aside, for now, according to Martin Henner, a key organizer. Cohousing is a form of community living that is growing in popularity worldwide and has taken off in Portland and Corvallis, but not so far in Eugene. The urban-style adult development intended for a vacant lot on Lincoln Street near Broadway “has not managed to attract enough people to make it work,” Henner says. “Interested people were hanging back, waiting to see if they wanted to join us after we had reached the state of architectural drawings and actual unit prices.” For updates, call Linda Seymour at 541-344-5751 or email eugenecohousingdowntown@gmail.com.
• Meanwhile, the suburban Oakleigh Meadow Cohousing development is advancing despite lengthy appeals and legal challenges. The family-oriented project along the Willamette River is expecting to break ground next fall. “The city is deeply committed to the success of our project,” says project manager Will Dixon. “We are 95 percent complete with building permits, and we have a strong core of households committed to forging ahead.” Organizers hold regular meetings on the third Sundays of the month. The next will be Jan. 21. Call 541-689-3548 or find designs and more information online.
• Hong Kong Restaurant at 18th and Willamette in Eugene is under new ownership, with new pastry chefs trained in China. The extensive new menu for lunch and dinner is getting positive reviews. Li Zhang bought the restaurant from Ted and Jolie Tang, who retired last June after running the restaurant for 34 years.
• We see that Russell Fox has taken over Action Drain from his uncle, Ryan Fox. The small Eugene business competes with the larger rooter businesses and has the motto: “We drain your sink, not your wallet.”
• The planned $43 million McKenzie River Interpretive Center and Discovery Park is reporting progress. The nonprofit Friends of the Old McKenzie Fish Hatchery has raised more than $1.2 million so far to lease the 46 acres and begin development planning. The latest grant is $25,000 from a fund of the Oregon Community Foundation. The site of the center will be the historic old hatchery near Leaburg Dam, which is now a county park and wayside. Across the river is the Leaburg Fish Hatchery, which is owned by the Army Corp of Engineers and has been threatened with closure. The interpretive center is intended to “honor Oregon’s most beautiful river, its boating and fishing legacies.” Call 541-914-9089 for more information or to get involved.
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