By Paris Jackson

EUGENE, Ore.--Lane Community College is one step closer to acquiring the 10th & Charnelton pit in downtown Eugene. But there's still a long and difficult road ahead. Wednesday, city councilors will review the details of their negotiation with LCC.

LCC Officials said their biggest hurdle in the project is funding. They're leaving it up to the city to decide what resources they'll utilize to provide those additional funds.

Lane Leaders said they want to move forward with the project.  However if they can't acquire more funding for it, the development won't be fully funded. As of now, Lane has more than $17 million available, but that's still not enough to complete the downtown project.

LCC's Chief Human Resources Officer, Dennis Carr said, "There's $500,000 that came so far from the federal government and we're exploring options for more. But there's a significant gap between those resources and what it will actually require financially to build a building on a half block in downtown Eugene."

On Wednesday, city councilors will vote on the details of the purchase agreement. One option is allowing the Urban Renewal Agency to help finance the project.

Under that proposal the city would sell the pit to LCC at no cost. The URA would purchase the Willamette Street building for $1.2 million.  Part of that agreement would allow Lane to continue using its Willamette Street building, until the pit project is complete.

Last night Eugene city councilors approved $8 million to help LCC build a new facility downtown.