A Way Too Early, Premature, and Impulsive Review

 

The "Heartwood" under construction in the River District development (photos by me).

Those of you who live in Eugene undoubtedly have seen the construction underway for the initial phase of Eugene’s downtown riverfront development. The “Heartwood” is the first residential building to be topped off. Upon completion, it will contain 95 market-rate apartment homes. Enough of its design and probable character are now evident for us to pass some judgment upon what it heralds for the remainder of the development.
 
At four stories in height and situated immediately east of the Ferry Street Bridge viaduct along the extension of 5th Avenue toward the river, Heartwood looms large. Construction of the second building in the development, the “Portal,” is underway. Located at the southwest corner of 4th Avenue and Mill Street, it will include an additional 130 market-rate apartments and 75 residences that are affordable to households with incomes up to 60% of the area median income.
 
When the conceptual renderings by SERA Architects for the new riverfront neighborhood appeared in 2018, I commented by saying their character suggested a “trite, generic response absent qualities expressive of its unique setting along the Willamette River.” I characterized the designs they implied as “banal brick boxes” and “underwhelming.” A bit harsh perhaps, though in my defense I did temper my criticism by acknowledging their very preliminary and necessarily generic nature.     
 
So, as Heartwood is assuming its ultimate shape, what do I think now? Well, hmmm—it appears it will be a banal brick box. Nothing about its form or its proposed cladding (which the onsite, freestanding mockup exhibits) suggests it or the other buildings will be anything more. Is it reasonable for me to have expected something architecturally dynamic and expressive? Maybe, but in the end, I think it will be the sum of the parts that matters the most.  

 

View from Mill Street (looking west) of the construction site for the Portal.

Fundamentally, the design of the “River District” prioritizes riparian restoration and pedestrian access to the river over full engagement of the urban fabric with the river’s edge. Given the development’s relative dissociation from downtown, the Fifth Street Market District, and the Franklin Boulevard corridor—the Union Pacific Railway tracks effectively preclude fully extending the street grid into the parcel—this is the correct response. The City’s early vision of a highly urbanized connection to the river was always somewhat impracticable. Eugene’s own version of a heavily trafficked and commercialized development akin to the San Antonio River Walk or the Chicago Riverwalk was never in the cards. Instead, I increasingly see what is taking shape as being what I should have always expected for this important site.
 
The more I study it, the more I like the design of the Eugene Downtown Riverfront Park and its main plaza by landscape architecture firm Walker Macy. When fully complete, the park will not be of Eugene’s “downtown.” Rather, it will be its own, long overdue precinct at a critical bend of the Willamette River, along the Ruth Bascomb Regional Trail, and opposite the river from Alton Baker Park. It will be a welcome and accessible means for everyone to engage with the important waterway that runs through the heart of Eugene.

 

Rendering by Walker Macy of the Riverfront Park and Plaza when complete.

The bottom line is I don’t mind if the new buildings primarily form a backdrop for the development’s riverfront setting and the public spaces the buildings will help shape. Boring architecture—in a good way—is enough. A huge dose of architectural bravado isn’t called for. The exception may be the proposed restaurant building, which by virtue of its position adjacent to the river overlook and plaza may warrant pavilion-like treatment.
 
I also don’t mind the fact the developers—Atkins Dame—focused chiefly on building new housing as opposed to integrating a large commercial component (there will be some commercial space, just not as much as one thinks when hearing the term “mixed-use” bandied about). The development will be vibrant, but not in a way that suggests it will usurp the downtown core as Eugene’s center of gravity.
 
I’ll withhold further appraisal of the River District and its architecture until it is more fully realized. I’m looking forward to seeing what will occupy the area directly under the viaduct and how effectively the future buildings east of High Street along 5th Avenue do extend the commercial character of the Market District toward the Riverfront Park. Overall, I’m hopeful the entire River District will appear “organic,” a natural and logical outcome of its time, place, and importance for Eugene.