Updated market study will guide Springfield in Glenwood riverfront redevelopment.

Byline: Jack Moran The Register-Guard

SPRINGFIELD - Six years ago, a city consultant figured that if the northeast corner of Glenwood along the Willamette River were revamped, it could be attractive to young, first-time homebuyers priced out of the Eugene-Springfield area's housing market.

Whether that idea still has merit will be addressed as part of an updated market study for the Glenwood riverfront area. The 48-acre industrial pocket between Franklin Boulevard and the Willamette River is the subject of a sweeping redevelopment plan crafted by Springfield officials.

The Springfield Economic Development Agency's board of directors voted last month to pay $47,000 for the updated market study, which will be completed by Portland-based Leland Consulting Group. SEDA is a public agency formed by the city to oversee redevelopment of the area.

Officials for Apex Investment Group - the firm chosen by SEDA to redevelop Glenwood's riverfront - requested the agency fund the Leland study. The urban renewal agency's board includes the Springfield City Council and two Lane County commissioners.

Leland's report will examine market conditions in the Eugene-Springfield area and collect information that could be used to help guide redevelopment in Glenwood.

The previous market analysis was issued in 2001 by New Jersey-based Zimmerman/Volk Associates and ZHA Inc., a Maryland company.

"Six-year-old information really is too old," said John Tamulonis, Springfield's community development manager. "The (updated) study will help shape the choices and decisions that need to be made."

The Leland study should be completed by early April, at which point Springfield and Apex officials will negotiate a contract that spells out the goals and responsibilities of both parties as they work on launching a long-term redevelopment effort in Glenwood's riverfront district.

In an e-mail sent in December to Tamulonis, Apex Chief Operations Officer Dan Ingrim wrote that completion of an updated market analysis is "crucial to" the process of reaching a deal with Springfield officials. To keep things moving forward, SEDA agreed to foot the bill for the study. SEDA is funded with money provided by the city of Springfield.

Tamulonis said he's hopeful SEDA and Apex can finalize a deal by May. That's when several purchase options the city acquired on property within the 48 acres will expire.

The city and SEDA have secured options from people owning about 38 acres within the riverfront district. The agreements, which include initial payments made by the city to property owners, would be transferred to Apex once a deal was completed.

One property owner who has not negotiated an option agreement with the city is Eugene developer Phil Marvin, who owns nearly eight acres south of the Willamette River bridge connecting Glenwood to Spring- field. Marvin was part of a local development group that unsuccessfully sought the job Apex was chosen for.

The challenge of remaking the riverfront district is expected to take at least a decade, and require millions of dollars in private and public spending. To complete the project, Apex and city officials must overcome a string of obstacles. They include making significant sewer and road improvements, resolving issues relating to the relocation of residents living in a pair of riverfront-area mobile home parks, and buying land from private property owners.

The 48-acre pocket now includes a hodgepodge of industrial and commercial businesses, along with mobile home parks and a few stick-built houses. Under a city-approved plan, the area is imagined to include riverview apartments and restaurants, open space along the waterfront, plus offices and shops.