It may take us some time to fully assess the socioeconomic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many sectors of the economy have clearly suffered—the virus has been particularly cruel to the personal services, restaurant, tourism, and entertainment industries—but others have fared remarkably well. Based more on my own observations and anecdotal experience than facts I can point to, it does seem design & construction activity in Lane County has been surprisingly robust. Indeed, if the shortages of skilled construction labor and high levels of bidding activity we are seeing are any indication, a combination of restarting and new projects continue to push a hot market to its limits.
Much of the activity is associated with developments that were already in the pipeline when the COVID-19 outbreak first occurred. Last summer, I wrote about some of these “essential” projects and how things were continuing to plug along despite an overriding fear and uncertainty about the future. Since that post, I reported on the completion of The Market Expansion and the Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact. Today, I’ll provide an update on another recently completed one of those projects, plus describe the current status of two of the new Eugene School District 4J schools funded by the 2018 school bond measure.
The Midtown
The Midtown is newly finished, and stands as an outstanding example of a creative, mixed-use development. Maybe it’s just me, but the elapsed time from its inception though completion seemed much longer than might normally be expected for a project of this type. No matter, the wait certainly appears to have been worth it. In its completed form, The Midtown fulfills the vision of the developer (a team that included ADH Development, LLC, Paradigm Properties, and the Eugene Ballet) and its designers (Dustrud Architecture) Its presence injects vibrancy and will attract complementary developments to Eugene’s blossoming “Midtown” district.
Despite being 7-stories in height (the residences on the upper floors commanding some outstanding views) and built to fill the entirety of its quarter-block site, I don’t find The Midtown to be an oppressive presence when viewed from Pearl Street or 16th Avenue. Admirably simple in form, it possesses just the right amount of variation in color, scale, and detail. It is a background building, belying its importance as a hub for nonprofit arts groups. As I declared a couple of years ago, Eugene can well afford more buildings of its type, ones that comprise the urban fabric, shape the public realm, and collectively define the character of the community.(1)
Check out the Eugene Ballet Building tour below. The new home for the EB and the Eugene Ballet Academy is a dream come true for both groups: large, lofty studio spaces, capacious storage and set preparation rooms, and state-of-the-art video teleconferencing and recording facilities (permitting “visiting” choreographers to work with the dancers virtually) will allow them to fully realize their potential.
Eugene Ballet Building Tour (experienceballet.org)
North Eugene High School
Construction of the new North Eugene High School will soon be underway in earnest on the site of the former Corridor Elementary/Yujin Gakuen Elementary School. The design by Rowell Brokaw Architects and Opsis Architecture features a centralized building layout intended to strengthen the sense of school community and aid in wayfinding and security, while also providing quality usable outdoor spaces. Overall, the 2-story scheme seems remarkably compact for a facility capable of accommodating an enrollment of up to 1,200 students. As is the trend today with the design of high schools, the architects were attentive not only to creating an efficient and cost-effective solution, but also to developing a positive community asset that minimizes impacts upon neighbors, features clear site circulation, and provides a safe, inclusive, and sustainable setting for education. Additionally, the new school will be capable of serving as an emergency shelter in the event of a natural disaster, with key areas built to an upgraded seismic standard among other resiliency upgrades.
Lease Crutcher Lewis is the construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC) for the project. The new North Eugene High School will be ready to open its doors in fall 2023.
Virtual Tour of North Eugene High School on Vimeo
Camas Ridge Elementary School
I attended a virtual open house this past Wednesday evening to learn about the design of the new Camas Ridge Elementary School. Organized by District 4J and presented by members of the PIVOT Architecture deign team, the well-attended event presented both an update on the project’s progress and breakout sessions allowing participants to ask questions and provide feedback.
This update was the second opportunity for the public to help inform the design effort. I did not attend the earlier design meeting, so I was eager to learn about the new Camas Ridge and compare its public engagement process with that employed by the Edison Elementary School project (which I was thoroughly familiar with as a part of the Edison design team).
Presently, the Camas Ridge project is in the Design Development phase. PIVOT’s response to the specifics of the project—the educational specifications, its site, and the available budget—appears straightforward. The building will straddle its full block from north to south, while the associated outdoor spaces will terrace downward from the namesake ridge planted with camas along University Street to the school’s parking lot fronting the building, then to a zone of hardscape play areas on the west side of the proposed building, and finally to a level, grass-covered field accessed through a planted berm on its east flank. 29th Avenue will accommodate school bus drop-off and pick-up, segregating this traffic from parents’ vehicles. The two-story plan organizes classroom clusters, the cafeteria, gymnasium, media center, administrative offices in eminently logical fashion.
Construction work at the Camas Ridge site will begin in summer 2022 and the new building will open in fall 2024.
The pandemic has been devastating, but for those of us in the design & construction industries there have been silver linings. Architects, engineers, and builders have been busy. Will our good fortune continue? Perhaps. Many factors are in play, including pent-up demand, continued low interest rates, and the infrastructure stimulus plan. We’re not likely to entirely return to life as we knew it B.C. (before COVID). Undoubtedly, the success of future projects will rely in part upon a recalibration of what the marketplace and our communities demand. Possible trends may include an increased desire for flexible environments, more space for people (facilitating social distancing when necessary), repurposing of surplus office space for new uses that add value to our communities (think affordable and alternative housing options), and the development of pedestrian, parklet, and patio experiences in our outdoor public spaces.
Like we have in the past, we have learned and evolved when confronted by unexpected challenges, and we will do so again.
(1) The subject of my 2019 post was 5-over-1 buildings, whereas The Midtown is creatively comprised of 5 stories of wood-framed construction over a 2-story concrete podium.
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