Elected Officials
Dear Mayor and Councilors,
Monday night [City Council Meeting 2-24-10] during the public comment period we spoke about an alternate site for the proposed ORI building in the Riverfront Research Park that provides a a win/win solution to a contentious local issue. Below we provide more information about a tremendous opportunity for you to help solve this issue and bring our community together.
First, however, we wish to underscore a few reasons why the proposed site for the ORI building is problematic:
1. The Research Park is on public land but the public (and in particular students and faculty) hasn’t been able to participate in over 20 years despite many changes to the surrounding area, the economy, and attitudes towards the environment.
2. According to the University Senate meeting minutes, former President Frohnmayer said that he would write to the mayor and the city council asking that they maintain the RRP as an urban renewal district under the conditions identified under the “Base Option”. These conditions included the provision to “hold development north of the railroad tracks in abeyance; the priority for development would be south of the tracks.”
3. The ORI building, despite many green features, is a suburban-style development surrounded by vast parking lots and access roads. This is inappropriate and out of scale for a site along the banks of the Willamette River (see image below). The EWEB redevelopment plan, in contrast, calls for dispersed parking amidst dense pedestrian-oriented development.
4. The ORI building as currently proposed would block the possibility of safe and convenient bicycle and pedestrian connection between the University, the river, and downtown.
5. A comprehensive planning effort for the riverfront/courthouse area involving the University, EWEB, and the city would result in a higher quality outcome than each entity acting more or less independently.
6. There will be considerable expense and delay for the developers to comply with all the elements of the 1992 contract between the City and the University including an obligation to maximize alternative transportation, provide multiple access points for fire trucks, and undergo a wetlands survey.
7. Perhaps most important, building at the proposed site will result in litigation and unnecessarily polarize our community instead of building trust and cooperation.
A Viable Alternative
The Research Park Master Plan calls for six building sites south of the railroad tracks. Only two of those have been built (on the east side). Of the four remaining sites south of the tracks, the Master Plan calls for two buildings in the “West Millrace” area. Here is an image depicting these six sites:
You can see from the images to the left and below that there is a substantial parcel of land that could be put to better use. While a chilled water plant has recently been constructed on a portion of the “West Millrace” site approximately 2.5 acres is still available for an office building. Also note that the building just west of the millrace is no longer there.
The University and ORI are aware of this site but rejected it summarily without public deliberation. Apparently access and parking were concerns with this site but there is no indication that any discussion transpired with adjacent properties owners to enhance the viability of this site.
The City of Eugene and Peace Health own blighted property along E. Broadway/Franklin Blvd. immediately to the west of this site. These parcels are located within the Riverfront Urban Renewal District and therefore funds could be used to provide access to and parking for the West Millrace site.
This is an opportunity for City Council to help bridge the gap between the city and the University by taking leadership and demonstrating to the citizens of Eugene that together we can find solutions that create jobs, beautify our city, and protect the environment.
As members of the community of Eugene, Connecting Eugene is asking you to say:
YES to Oregon Research Institute
YES to the Research Park
YES to protecting the riverfront while a new Master Plan is developed with meaningful public involvement
YES to beautifying Franklin Boulevard
Please help by instructing city staff to initiate conversation with the University about collaborating on the development of the “West Millrace” site to help expedite the construction of the ORI building.
Even More Alternate Sites
Please note that this is not the only alternate site available for the ORI building. This site is recommended because it’s in the Research Park Master Plan and could be readily built. Another site is available near the corner of Franklin Blvd. and Agate Street directly across from existing Research Park buildings. This is the site of the former Coca-Cola bottling plant and is now owned by the City. Other sites are also likely available. For example, when ORI first declared their plans to build along the Willamette River their executive director reported to the Register-Guard that
“We had five very good proposals in front of us. It was not an easy decision.“
The above text is from a letter sent by email to the Mayor of Eugene and the City Council on 2/23/2010
