Glenwood Riverfront Development

Google Maps view of the northern portion of Glenwood. The 9.5-acre redevelopment site is highlighted in  yellow.

I’m writing for the second week in a row in response to recent news I read in The Register-Guard. My last blog post addressed the Eugene Emeralds baseball club and its need to build a new stadium. The Emeralds’ quest for a new stadium figures again this week, but this time as one of three proposals to redevelop 9.5 acres of riverfront land in Glenwood. As reported by Don Kahle in his Friday column in the R-G, the Springfield Economic Development Agency (SEDA) may decide as soon as next month to award the right to revitalize the property. The result, in a few short years, may herald a dynamic transformation of the entire Glenwood district. In Don’s words, this is indeed “big news.” 

The City of Springfield has long eyed Glenwood for its untapped potential. The fact Glenwood has laid fallow for so long is remarkable given its prime location between Eugene and Springfield, proximity to I-5, situation along the already established EmX BRT corridor, not to mention its immediate adjacency to and scenic promise of the Willamette River. SEDA purchased the subject development property—currently occupied by the Ramsey-Waite Co. dealership—a few years ago, using funds generated by the Glenwood Urban Renewal District. The site provides a direct connection between the recently improved Franklin Boulevard and the river, a central aspect of SEDA’s vision of a vibrant, mixed-use precinct for the northern portion of Glenwood. The City will rely upon additional renewal district funding to pay for continued improvements to public infrastructure associated with future developments throughout this zone.

 

In January of this year, the SEDA board expected to discuss a proposal it received for the site from a comprehensive development team, but the City Attorney’s Office raised concerns regarding whether entering exclusive negotiations outside of a public and competitive procurement process would be permissible. Since then, two additional teams have expressed interest. All three parties— Glenwood Development LLC, LOCALIS partners, and the Eugene Emeralds/Elmore Sports Group—seek an expedited proposal review and selection process because of the timeframe associated with Opportunity Zone investor funding(1); accordingly, the City staff identified a path forward, enabling selection of a developer outside of the conventional process and timeline of drafting and releasing an RFQ or RFP.

 

Don outlined the highlights of the Glenwood Development LLC proposal in his column, the planning for which appears to be the furthest along among the three tenders and presumably was the proposal SEDA was prepared to discuss in January. These highlights include a 378-room, 19-story hotel and associated 55,000 sf conference center, 500+ units of housing (including more than 100 affordable/workforce units developed in partnership with Homes for Good), retail and entertainment venues, and an 800-space CLT-framed parking structure. As Don wrote, the scope and scale of the Glenwood Development LLC proposal does indeed reflect “soaring ambition.” The Glenwood Development LLC team includes Lufti Thabet, Greg Vik, Joel Andersen, and Allen Lonstron. The designers are LRS Architects, Satre Group, and Branch Engineering, and Andersen Construction with Vik Construction would be the general contractors.

 

Instead of limiting their proposal to the initially available 9.5-acre site, the LOCALIS partners’ plan encompasses roughly 39 acres of riverfront land. Their project would feature a mix of medium and high-density housing, office and commercial space, retail and restaurants, parking, hotel and meeting center, sports venues, and park improvements. Notably, the sports venues would include a soccer stadium that would allow Lane United FC to step up to the USL League One tier of professional play.(2) Dave Galas, founder and managing director of Lane United FC, is a member of the LOCALIS team. LOCALIS partners’ team further includes Matt Koehler of Cameron McCarthy Landscape Architecture & Planning and Fui-Sung Yi of Morphosis Architects (with the potential for additional examples of Morphosis’ provocative architecture in our community).

 

Unsurprisingly, the proposal by the Eugene Emeralds/Elmore Sports Group centers around a new stadium designed to conform with Major League Baseball’s facilities standards for its High-A minor league affiliates; however, unlike the Glenwood Development LLC and LOCALIS partners plans, the Emeralds’ proposal does not initially promise additional components accommodating other uses.

 

The agenda for last Monday’s SEDA meeting provided the SEDA board members with basic summary information from all three proposers, as well as the topics and requested action for each of SEDA’s two sessions scheduled for the month of April. Here’s what on tap for those two meetings:

 

APRIL 12 REGULAR SESSION PRESENTATIONS

Agenda Topics

• 90-120 Minutes - Presentations provided to the SEDA Board. Each group is provided 30 minutes for a virtual presentation highlighting information provided by the team in their submittal.
• Brief deliberations might occur to inform requested actions.

Requested Action

• Provide staff with any follow-up questions or requests for additional information from the proposing groups.
• Alternatively, the Board might make a selection based on what is presented in this session and direct staff to negotiate exclusively with preferred development group.

 

APRIL 26

Agenda Topics

• The Board might deliberate to select a preferred development group for exclusive negotiation.

Requested Action

• Direct staff to negotiate exclusively with selected development group.
• The Board might choose not to exclusively negotiate with any currently interested party. In this case, the Board might direct staff to reinitiate a formal Request for Qualification process.

SEDA expects the proposers’ presentations on April 12 to address a variety of concerns, including vision and concept, the estimated costs, market and financial feasibility, general experience, and experience with public-private partnerships.

 

If I have the time, I may log in to one or both of SEDA’s April board meetings via Zoom.

 

SEDA regards Glenwood as integral to the larger metro economy. The location of the initial redevelopment site along the Willamette River is central to SEDA’s vision, which includes river-oriented development with public access to the riverfront and green fingers extending back to the community. The proposed design infrastructure will foster compact urban forms interconnected by a network of walkable streets and inviting open spaces.

 

Glenwood is primed and ready for a transformative and catalyzing project. The interest expressed by all three proposers bodes well for its future. The groundwork the City of Springfield laid down is clearly bearing fruit, and it’s exciting to see.

 

 

(1)  Opportunity Zones are an incentive program resulting from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted by the U.S. Congress. These zones are intended to encourage investments in low-income communities towards development and business through Opportunity Funds. Opportunity Funds encourage investment in them by allowing investors to reduce their tax burden from capital gains.

 

(2)  If LOCALIS partners realizes its vision, my assumption is Lane United won’t be calling Civic Park its home, which would be interesting given how much Dave Galas has invested in making Civic Park a reality with the goal of making it Lane United’s home field.