Dana Sparks

From the top of the retired plant, the Willamette River can be seen. Inside lies a maze of abandoned equipment. Eugene Water and Electric Board’s retired steam plant is the future sight for a new development along the Willamette riverfront. (Dana Sparks/Emerald)

The Eugene Steam Plant redevelopment project has progressed after the Eugene City Council approved an additional $6 million in funding at their April 24 meeting.

The city’s involvement with the Steam Plant redevelopment project began in 2017 when its Urban Renewal Agency Board purchased the structure and subsequently approved the project in 2018. However, despite the city approving terms for the redevelopment in Jan. 2022, a significant financial gap in funding remained.

The $6 million in additional Urban Renewal funds will fill that financial gap and address budget needs, adding on to funds that were previously approved at their Jan. 2022 meeting. The funds are also a financing tool to make additional resources available, but can only be used to cover capital projects and project-related costs.

City of Eugene Development Program Manager Amanda D’Souza said the expected amount in Urban Renewal funds received to support the project is $7.8 million, following these additional funds. The total project is estimated to cost $60 million, with much of the financing coming from private investment.

“It’s a really complicated project, just adaptively reusing a building that’s not designed to be anything other than a Steam Plant is really expensive,” D’Souza said. “It’s just a really hard project, so we knew that there was going to be a need for additional financial assistance.”

The project’s development team is known as the Dream Plant team, who are led by the deChase Miksis development firm. The team works together to refine the vision for the site and are concurrently working on a plan to execute it.

The development team has also been involved in ongoing discussions with the Urban Renewal Agency regarding the development agreement. This agreement is required before construction can begin and D’Souza expects this process to be complete within two years.

“We’ve heard from the community that preserving the Steam Plant was important,” D’Souza said. “It’s an iconic building in Eugene right on the river. We are making sure that the developer is finding a way to make the building accessible to the community.”

Will Dowdy, community development director for Eugene, is working on the development agreement with his team and has been actively involved with this project since 2017. 

He said that the end goal of this project is to be a place for people to meet and gather, accompanied by food and beverage options at different cafes and restaurants in the building. Additionally, Dowdy said they plan on implementing economic components such as a hotel, art and culture pieces, offices and lobby spaces for individuals to come in and enjoy the river.

“I think this building really gets to be an opportunity to be a symbol of this rediscovery of the river, this return of the river to so many people throughout the community and a place for them to engage that legacy,” Dowdy said. 

Dowdy sees this redevelopment as a piece in the larger picture of finally reconnecting downtown Eugene with the Willamette River and the Downtown Riverfront Park.

“As a place that sees a fair share of tourism, it becomes a place where people from around the world get to know our river and community,” Dowdy said. “It’s really been more than 40 years in the making.”