Walt Hunt looks back on downtown Eugene as a fun and busy place filled with fountains, stores and people everywhere.
“When I moved here in the ’70s, it was the most vital downtown of a city its size in the United States,” said Hunt, who owns New Odyssey Juice & Java, a juice bar and coffee shop on the corner of Willamette Street and East 10th Avenue.
As the popularity of shopping centers grew, stores like J.C. Penney and Kaufman’s relocated to the Valley River Center. Once a bustling shopping district with a large pedestrian mall that was closed off to vehicular traffic, downtown Eugene was left somewhat abandoned.
“They left a hole in the center of downtown,” said City of Eugene Senior Development Analyst Denny Braud. “Over time, it just kind of eroded. The economy of that area just diminished.”
Streets eventually reopened, the last of which was West Broadway from Willamette to Charnelton Streets, two blocks with low lease rates and many vacancies.
Talk of redeveloping downtown began roughly a year and a half ago, when Opus Northwest planned a $165 million retail, entertainment, housing and office project in the space. Unable to acquire most of the property, however, the Portland developer’s vision fizzled.
Something worth noting, said Mike Hibbard a professor at the University’s School of Planning, Public Policy and Management, is that Eugene’s population was roughly one-seventh of its current size when downtown was initially developed.
Last fall, the city was able to negotiate the rights to purchase 12 parcels of property. Four developers submitted applications to be reviewed by the city’s Redevelopment Advisory Committee, an advisory group to city planners. Eventually, two were chosen: KWG Development and Beam Development.
“They have different approaches and different areas of expertise, so that’s why we selected both of them,” Braud said.
While Beam is known for historic rehabilitation, KWG specializes in comprehensive redevelopment.
Dubbed “The West End,” KWG’s initial proposition was an elaborate project that included 400 housing units geared toward a range of income levels, office and retail space, a multi-screen movie theater, a grocery store, nightclubs and restaurants. The developer also toyed with the idea of converting the vacant Centre Court building into a hotel.
Smaller and less costly, Beam’s plan involved turning the Centre Court and adjacent Washburne buildings into stores with office space on top. Beam also planned to build a one-story structure dedicated to the arts.
Now that it’s been confirmed that the two Portland developers will collaborate, what will actually come of the West Broadway blocks – as well as the cost – is yet to be determined.
“We’re in between a vision and a concept,” said Nan Laurence, an associate planner with the city, of the redevelopment plan’s current state.
Marcelino Colmenares owns Anna’s Food Palace, a downtown café specializing in Mexican food. Anna’s is located on Willamette Street, just around the corner from West Broadway.
“I would assume it would bring more people and traffic to this area,” Colmenares said of the project. “I definitely think it will benefit a lot of the businesses around here.”
New Odyssey is also down the block from the development site. Hunt thinks the project will have a positive effect on his business, but he hopes Downtown Eugene’s character remains intact.
“I’ve always been a pro-downtown development person, but with caution,” he said. “I’m for growth, but not just blind ‘knock it down and build a mall.”
Using Tucson, Ariz., and Memphis, Tenn., as examples, Hunt said he doesn’t want Eugene to be a city that becomes a shell of its former self with none of the original buildings.
“I want it to not hurt people and not be a big corporate takeover of downtown,” he said. “I want it to include our local business community.”
On Sept. 19, the West Broadway Advisory Committee will meet to discuss details such as design characteristics, parking and transition of pre-existing businesses, such as Taco Time, Lazar’s Bazar, and Backstage Dancewear and Theatrical Supplies.
However, one aspect that is concrete is the intention to create a mixed-use space, combining both housing and entertainment.
Hibbard stressed the importance of balancing the two.
“To make those condos and apartments attractive for people to live in, they want there to be street life and things to do out the door,” he said. “If they wanted a backyard, they’d move to the outskirts of town instead of downtown.”
There is also talk of a Centre Court focus, which Laurence considers to be an important building on an important street.
“The Centre Court is really a key building; that location should be the center of downtown,” she said. “We’re trying to create a street that you find yourself walking along. Not every street needs that level of action, but the great streets do.”
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