If one were to take a drive down the surrounding streets of the University of Oregon, it’s easy to see infrastructural change and expansion. Our university’s freshman class of 2021 welcomed a record-high number of students this fall, and this growth shows no signs of slowing down. With this influx of students, the university and affiliated businesses are already opportunizing to accommodate.
Multiple student-targeted apartments are being built on Franklin Blvd, while the most recent and prominent development is the expansion of the Duck store on East 13th Avenue. The Duck Store, while an independent business, sells University of Oregon apparel and supplies to UO students. And, on February 1st, the store finalized plans for a mixed-use development, demolishing property currently occupied by Toxic Wings X-Press, Bobahead, Caspian Mediterranean Cafe, Oregon Colors clothing boutique and Simply Mac.
The current plans for the development project include expanded retail space for the Duck Store as well as additional retail shops on the ground floor with four stories of student housing above the storefronts.
Caspians Mediterranean cafe, one of the businesses being displaced by the development, currently has plans to either temporarily close or attempt to relocate during the move. And, while they hope to return, according to employee Nicholas Tyler Smith, there is still some uncertainty during this time. “I think it’s nice that they are trying to give us a new space because we obviously would like one, but the other problem is that once they build this new space it’s like are we going to be able to afford to rent it?” Smith questioned.
This is an unfortunate reality when it comes to development as there is always the threat of pricing certain people in the community out of their spaces. Whether we are in a college town or a big city, this aspect of gentrification is always present.
As a UO student here in Eugene I often can’t help but feel guilty as I hear Eugene locals and small businesses such as Caspians complain about the ugly student high rises filling their streets and our Duck Store displacing their business.
Being someone who grew up in Oakland, one of the primary places in the US experiencing gentrification and displacement today, the idea of being a perpetrator in another city deeply concerns me. At home, I live 10 minutes away from the UC Berkeley campus where a longstanding houseless people encampment is under threat of being built over to provide dorms for students. I can’t help but see parallels here in Eugene, another place that has a large houseless population.
However, unlike some bigger cities, new developments in increasingly popular college towns are inevitable and often necessary, whether the community welcomes them or not. With UC’s and other out-of-state school systems decreasing their acceptance rates and raising fees, the University of Oregon is becoming the best option for many students both in and out of state. With this draw, more developments will come and we ultimately can’t fully fault the developers and University for expanding to accommodate.
As college students who are contributing to the “studentification” of Eugene we still must be aware of our participation in this system that ultimately harms others, and the effects we have on the community. At the end of the day, Eugene is a college town, but we rely on the surrounding community for as much as they rely on us financially. The politics surrounding the gentrification of Eugene is a nuanced issue that not many people in the community have answers for on both sides. But, no matter where you stand on it, we should all continue to support small businesses in this town and consume consciously.
