SALEM — Salem officials are taking another look at how the city could use urban renewal money to shape future development north of downtown, a stretch of the city that could become more important as Salem looks for new housing, business activity and better public access near the Willamette River.
The Salem Urban Renewal Agency held a work session May 18 at Loucks Auditorium to discuss a North Waterfront Urban Renewal Area update. The discussion was not a final vote on a specific project, but it signals the city’s continued interest in using urban renewal as a tool to prepare land for redevelopment and guide growth in an area near downtown. The city calendar listed the meeting as the “Urban Renewal Agency Work Session – North Waterfront URA Update.”
City materials describe urban renewal as a way to invest in specific parts of Salem. The Urban Renewal Agency is “responsible for governing Salem’s seven urban renewal areas,” and provides direction for projects and programs meant to “invest in and improve specific geographic areas of the city.” In Salem, the agency board is made up of the mayor and City Council, with the mayor serving as chair.
Urban renewal is funded through tax increment financing. When an urban renewal area is created, the current assessed property value is essentially frozen. Local governments continue receiving tax revenue from that base value, while added tax revenue from future growth is directed back into the district for approved improvements.
City staff have described the tool as one used “to stimulate investment and economic development, address blight, and grow property tax valuation within communities.” Staff materials also note that urban renewal revenue can only be used for certain purposes, including property acquisition, site readiness, demolition, environmental remediation, land use work, capital projects and public improvements.
For Salem, the North Waterfront conversation matters because the area sits close to downtown and near existing riverfront assets. If planned carefully, it could help connect underused land with housing, commercial space, public access and transportation improvements. It could also give the city another tool to encourage private development at a time when housing supply, downtown activity and infrastructure costs remain major local issues.
The area has been discussed before as a place where redevelopment pressure is likely to grow. In prior city staff language cited in public meeting coverage, staff wrote that “as the downtown Salem becomes built out, interest is growing in development and redevelopment opportunities within the north waterfront/north downtown area.”
Salem already has experience using urban renewal along the river and near downtown. The city’s existing urban renewal areas include Riverfront-Downtown and South Waterfront, and the city says funding may be available in urban renewal areas to support projects in key locations and opportunity sites.
The next step will be watching whether the city moves from discussion to a formal plan with proposed boundaries, project priorities and a financial framework. Those details matter because urban renewal can help pay for long-term improvements, but it also directs future tax growth inside the district toward redevelopment projects until the plan is completed.
For nearby businesses, property owners and residents, the key question is not just whether Salem creates another urban renewal area. It is what kind of neighborhood the city is trying to build there, and who benefits from that growth.