2022 Projects in the Pipeline

 

If the 2022 Projects in the Pipeline program was any indication, the breadth and volume of projects we can look forward to seeing take shape in here in Lane County over the next few years is impressive. The large amount of work hardly surprises us anymore, as the design and construction industries have proven remarkably resilient despite the economic and social turmoil we have endured since early 2020.
 
As with previous editions of the program, the Willamette Valley Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute again invited representatives from local public agencies and developers to describe the current projects they're working on. This year, a combined in-person (at the Downtown Athletic Club) and virtual audience learned what the City of Eugene, University of Oregon, Lane Community College, and Atkins Dame, Inc. have in store for interested design professionals, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers.
 
City Of Eugene
Representing the City of Eugene was Allie Camp, Development Investment Liaison for the City’s Community Development Division. Much of the work the city has queued up is associated with maintenance or upgrades to existing infrastructure. The diverse projects Allie enumerated include the following:
 

• Eugene Airport Passenger Parking Lot Expansion
• Eugene Airport Carwash Facility (which will service the rental car company fleets)
• Eugene Airport relocation of FAA fiber lines
• Willamette Connection (see more about this project below)
• Golden Gardens Park Planning
• Monroe Park Restroom Renovation
• Tennis Courts Reconstruction – Churchill Sports Park
• Lincoln School Park Renovation
• Santa Clara Community Park (a phased project for new community park on a 35-acre site)
• Susan Arlie Trail Design (the city wishes to hire one firm to oversee both design and construction of the proposed trails)
• Striker Field construction
• Amazon Creek Naturalization (eliminating the concrete channel the creek presently flows along between 19th Avenue and 24thAvenue)
• Franklin Boulevard (part of the comprehensive, years-long project to improve the Franklin corridor in partnership with the City of Springfield and Lane Transit District)
• Fire Station 1 and Fire Station 11 re-roofing and HVAC replacement
• Eugene Library Main Branch and Hult Center re-roofing projects
• Eugene Police Department Headquarters maintenance
• Lighting projects (including along the Fern Ridge path and lighting upgrades in various city buildings)
• Pavement preservation projects (21 in total, including a mix of pavement reconstructions and overlays)

 

Willamette Connection

I was particularly intrigued by the Willamette Connection project and its promise to improve the existing pedestrian corridor between 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue, flanked to either side by the Hult Center and the Graduate Hotel. The City’s goal is to make the path a fully accessible, more welcoming, and safe gateway between Eugene’s downtown core and the Market District to the north. The current grade change between the sidewalk at 7th Avenue and the Hult Center’s south entrance has always struck me as a confounding obstacle for mobility-impaired persons, so addressing this problem alone will significantly improve everyone’s experience. As a member of the local Japanese-American community (well, technically I am Japanese-Canadian), I also hope the Willamette Connection enhancements will preserve and enhance appreciation of the Eugene Japanese-American Memorial, which commemorates those who unjustly were interned by the U.S. government during the Second World War.  
 
University of Oregon
If I heard him correctly, Darin Dehle, University of Oregon Director of Design & Construction (and former colleague of mine at Robertson/Sherwood/Architects) said the UO completed projects totaling an astonishing $1.8 billion during the past biennium. Most notable among these are the Lyllyle Reynolds-Parker Black Cultural Center, the first phase of the Knight Campus for Accelerated Scientific Development, Unthank Hall, the Millrace Drive Garage, Bean Hall renovation, the University Health & Counseling Center expansion, and the new Hayward Field. Further reinforcing the university’s importance to the local economy, Darin provided an extensive accounting of upcoming design and construction projects representing an investment over the next couple of years rivaling the recent sums spent.
 
Like the City of Eugene, a substantial portion of that investment will fund maintenance projects and systems upgrades, among them:

• A new chilled water thermal storage tank
• Essingler Hall roof replacement
• Knight Library Elevator 5 and fire alarm upgrades
• Restoration of the Knight Library exterior
• Replacement of the historic windows of Condon Hall
• Building 130 seismic upgrade
• Baker Center, Cascade Hall, and Lawrence Hall reroofing projects
• Pacific Hall North mechanical systems replacement
• McMorran House deferred Maintenance & ADA upgrades
• Klamath Hall and Onyx Bridge exhaust fan replacements
• 12.5 KVA electrical switching and feeder loop upgrades (Science buildings and East Campus)

Additionally, the University is proceeding with the following larger scale projects:
 

Villard Hall (photo by Andrew Wendt, CC BY-SA 2.5 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5>, via Wikimedia Commons)

• Heritage Project (full renovation of University Hall and Villard Hall, including the outdoor space between them)
• Huestis Hall Renovation ($63 million estimated cost)
• Knight Campus Phase 2 ($200 million estimated cost)

Through these projects and more, the University continues to address a pent-up demand for maintenance, modernization, and expansion, thereby ensuring its future competitiveness on the higher education landscape.
 
Lane Community College
Currently underway for Lane Community College is a set of projects funded through voters’ approval in May of 2020 of Ballot Measure 20-306 for a bond valued at $121.5 million. LCC is using the bond to address safety, security, and accessibility for all students on its campuses, workforce retraining and career technical education investments, and classroom and learning space updates to meet the needs of current and future students.
 
Thomas Goodhew, LCC’s Capital Construction Manager, described the various bond projects, which include:

• A new Health Professions Building
• Expanded Manufacturing and Technology Program facilities
• Campus earthquake and safety upgrades
• Updated Science labs and modernized Math, Arts, and Engineering spaces
• A new Workforce Development Center
• A new Public Safety Operation and Training Center
• Replacement of the college’s IT and cybersecurity infrastructure
• Related site improvements, equipment, furnishings, etc.

 

LCC Health Professions Building - Schematic Design Phase rendering

It’s my pleasure to currently work with Tom on the new Health Professions Building project. Robertson/Sherwood/Architects is the architect-of-record, and our frequent collaborator, Mahlum Architects, is providing design leadership. We are about to embark on the Design Development phase of the $22 million project, with construction slated to begin later this year. Fortis Construction is the Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC)
 
A key aspect of the bond projects is LCC’s commitment to fulfilling the goals of its Community Benefits Agreement. The CBA directs the college administration to promote and prioritize local businesses, contractors, and worker in the procurement of services and materials. Moreover, the CBA prioritizes diversity and equity in the project workforce, requires utilization of state or federally approved training and apprenticeship opportunities on building projects, and incorporates sustainability objectives in the project’s design and construction.
 
Atkins Dame, Inc.
During the 2020 edition of the Projects in the Pipeline program, developer Jim Atkins of Portland-based Atkins Dame, Inc. envisioned construction of the first buildings for the much-anticipated riverfront redevelopment of the former EWEB maintenance yard occurring during 2021, but that was before the global pandemic temporarily froze the capital markets. Fast-forward two years, and Jim was pleased to report that construction in the newly dubbed River District will start this year. Atkins Dame’s purchase of the initial parcels recently closed, with further land acquisition slated to occur later this year and during 2023. The company has attracted $30 million in Opportunity Zone equity for the development.
 
The initial Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA #1), signed in 2018, put the project into motion on the entitlement, infrastructure design, and environmental fronts. DDA #2 subsequently committed Atkins Dame and the City of Eugene to choose between “low” and “high” density development options. The maximum possible density would see as many as 1,213 units of housing in buildings up to seven stories in height.

Parcel 3BC apartment building
 

SERA Architects of Portland master-planned the River District and is designing the first two buildings. A 4-story building with 133 apartments will rise on Parcel 3BC (one of the “portal” sites), while Parcel 7 (facing the 1-acre urban plaza at the heart of the development) will accommodate another 4-story apartment building including ninety-five homes. The two buildings will not include retail space (future buildings in the neighborhood will). Atkins Dame tabbed Essex General Construction as the general contractor for the projects.
 
Jim envisions the River District in six to eight years as a vibrant, mixed-use, mid-rise community. Along with the adaptive reuse of the former EWEB steam plant, the development promises to transform downtown Eugene by connecting it to the settlement's historic roots along the banks of the Willamette River. It has been a long time coming and certainly will be exciting to see take shape.
 

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The popularity and value of the annual Projects in the Pipeline presentation is underscored by the support it receives from sponsors. This year’s list of sponsors is particularly impressive. Thanks to the following companies for supporting this year’s program:
 

• Atkins Dame, Inc.
• Architectural Woodwork Institute
• Lease Crutcher Lewis
• DeaMor
• Delta Sand & Gravel
• KCL Engineering
• Oregon Electric Group
• Mid-Valley Commercial Construction, Inc.
• Essex General Construction, Inc.
• Streimer Sheet Metal Works, Inc.
• Systems West Engineers
• FM Sheet Metal, Inc.
• PAE Engineers
• Scofield Electric
• Rowell Brokaw Architects, PC

And kudos to the members of the CSI Willamette Chapter board for organizing the event. If the Projects in the Pipeline program was any indication, the chapter is off to a great start in 2022!