Rowan Campbell

Demolition with heavy machinery continues at the site of The Peace Health Hospital in Eugene. (Rowan Campbell/Emerald).

For University of Oregon students living along East 13th Avenue, walking to school means walking past numerous construction zones and crossing the street multiple times due to closed sidewalks along East 13th Avenue.

High-rise apartment buildings are being constructed on the corner of East 13th Avenue and Alder Street, as well as on the former site of Espresso Roma. Further up the street, the PeaceHealth hospital is being demolished.

The construction continues on campus, too, with active renovations to Friendly Hall and the demolition site of Hamilton Hall to the east.

UO sophomore Jessica Brannan lives at the Westgate apartment complex on East 13th, across the street from the former PeaceHealth hospital demolition.

“I don’t even know where all the noises are coming from,” Brannan said. “It feels like our whole block is a demolition zone.”

Brannan said it takes longer to walk to school now because she has to maneuver her way through the different projects. She said she feels “out of the loop” because she doesn’t know how long the projects will take, or when they will end.

PeaceHealth’s Sacred Heart Medical Center on 13th Avenue closed in 2023 after “sizable financial losses and the need for large-scale renovations and seismic retrofitting to continue using the facility,” PeaceHealth spokesperson Jim Murez said.

The land went on the market in 2025, part of which was bought by Bushnell University. According to Murez, PeaceHealth’s Behavioral Health Unit remains operating on this land, as PeaceHealth continues to lease back from Bushnell.

The rest of the buildings are currently undergoing demolition work by Landmark Properties.

A Landmark Properties spokesperson said, “The work is expected to be fully complete later this year.”

In addition to the hospital, PeaceHealth is also selling the parking garage on the corner of East 13th and Patterson Street. The garage, Lot 302, is currently being used for hospital parking and monthly student parking for nearby residents.

In an email sent out to all monthly parking permit holders, permits will continue to be sold until May, and will be valid until May 24 of this year, after which students will have to find alternative parking for the last three weeks of the spring term.