Downtown Riverfront Park

The Downtown Riverfront Park is now open! 

• Cultural Fountain Installation Updates

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  The fabrication and installation of the Across the Bridge commemorative drinking fountain was originally scheduled to happen simultaneously with the construction of the Downtown Riverfront Park. While we were able to successfully add a concrete base and plumbing stub-outs for the work, the City has had a difficult time engaging with a qualified art fabricator to complete the work. We are finally now under contract with a Seattle-based firm who’s ready to finish the detailed design work needed for fabrication and expect that the installation should be complete sometime later in 2025.

  The design for the fountain was originally reviewed and approved by a focus group of Black Eugeneans who included the late Miss Lyllye Reynolds and her sister Dolores. They were joined by other local black leaders and historians to help shape the design and review the language used in the story of the Across the Bridge Community on the piece. These meetings occurred in 2019 ahead of the construction of the park and before the death of George Floyd and the associated social justice reckoning across the United States. As a result of ongoing review, and additional thoughtful feedback from the Black Community over time, the language on the fountain was continually updated to reflect a truer rendition of the Across the Bridge Story and more clearly deliver the message of welcome and unity. You can review the most recent verbiage and the fountain concept here.

• City celebrates grand opening of Downtown Riverfront Park

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  The City of Eugene invites the community to attend the grand opening of the Downtown Riverfront Park, kicking-off on Friday, June 10.

  The weekend celebration will begin at 10 a.m., with speeches by Mayor Lucy Vinis and City Manager Sarah Medary as well as a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

  Harmonic Laboratory and City of Eugene will be presenting special Artistic Encounters programming throughout the weekend. All performances are free to the public and will run from 12 – 1 p.m. on Friday, 12 – 2 p.m. on Saturday and 12 – 1 p.m. on Sunday under the new art pavilion, SubSupra.

  Food will be available for purchase from local favorites including: Most Wanted Espresso, O’my Mini Donuts, Sweetbay Shave Ice and Sling-in Weiner.

  About the Downtown Riverfront Park

  After decades of visioning, the City of Eugene has fulfilled a long-held goal of turning the former EWEB utility operations yard into a vibrant, active, and accessible riverfront park that reconnects Downtown to the Willamette River and serves as a regional destination.

  The three-acre Downtown Riverfront Park is urban in character balanced by riverbank and habitat enhancements. The park design, which included input from thousands of community members, features broad river views, new bicycle and pedestrian paths, covered seating and overlooks.

  Funding for the Downtown Riverfront Park development comes from the 2018 Parks and Recreation Bond, Urban Renewal Agency funds and Public Works capital funds. Ongoing maintenance of the park is being funded by the 2018 Parks and Recreation Levy.

  Cultural Interpretive Art

  Integrated art pieces tell the stories of the ecology, industry and community, creating a park experience that’s truly all about Eugene.

  With the direct input from Eugene’s Black community, this site will be the future home of a sculptural bronze water fountain framing views across the river to Alton Baker Park. The interpretive piece will share the story of Eugene’s first Black neighborhood that was razed with very little notice in 1949 to make way for construction of today’s Ferry Street Bridge. Sculpted as a continuous bronze surface that bends and folds to accommodate adults, children and people who are mobility challenged, the work is an inclusive invitation for all to come to the river’s edge to share a drink of fresh water together. This piece is expected to be installed late 2022.

  Downtown Riverfront Park Plaza

  The adjacent one-acre park plaza, to the west of the Downtown Riverfront Park, is scheduled for additional design work and construction to be completed in 2025. A series of public open houses will begin in late June this year and run through the summer. Project design will be completed in 2023, with one year of construction anticipated to begin in Spring of 2024.

  Eugene’s 2022 Legacy

  While Hayward Field will host the World Athletics Championships, the Downtown Riverfront Park will host a free fan festival for visitors and local community members. The festival will be an opportunity to showcase our state, local businesses, and our diverse and talented local arts communities to the world. With the thousands of visitors to Eugene, the Downtown Riverfront Park is sure to be a centerpiece of the festival and a community legacy beyond 2022.

• Downtown Riverfront Park Update

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  Due to ongoing construction delays, the Downtown Riverfront Park will take a little bit longer to complete.

  We had hoped to open in August. Unfortunately, we are seeing the results of nationwide supply chain issues, labor shortages and other residual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic play out on a local level. These delays, coupled with new OSHA rules to protect the safety of staff and contractors working in the heat, mean that we need to push out the opening of the park to late fall.

  This is a landmark project for the City of Eugene and with it come high expectations of quality and finish. We want to make sure we are exceeding those expectations when we officially open this park. We look forward to welcoming park visitors and delivering a safe and first-class experience as soon as we can.

• Construction starts on Downtown Riverfront Park

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  After many years of visioning and planning, construction on the developed portion of Downtown Riverfront Park is underway. Construction on this legacy park project is scheduled to take place over the next year and is on track to be completed in the late spring of 2021.
  
  The 3-acre park will be urban in character balanced by riverbank and habitat enhancements. The work completed over the next year will include creating spaces for broad river views, new bicycle and pedestrian paths, seating and overlooks. The park’s design, which included input from thousands of community members, includes integrated art pieces that tell the stories of the ecology, industry and community, past and present, creating a park experience that’s truly all about Eugene.
  
  “This project will be a public outdoor space like no other in Eugene,” says Emily Proudfoot, project manager. “The ability to come down to the park and look out over this beautiful river that’s shaped our community will create a destination and connection to our past and future for community members and visitors alike.”
  
  Site preparation began last year with the demolition of buildings, mass grading, removal of soil to make the riverbank less steep, and re-vegetation of the rocky bank with more than 24,000 plants.
  
  The adjacent 1-acre park plaza, to the west of the riverfront park, is scheduled for additional design work and construction to be completed after the opening of the park and in conjunction with building development in the new neighborhood.
  
  Eugene-based Brown Contracting is the general contractor for the project. A regionally-recognized firm, Brown has been working in Eugene building parks, public infrastructure, and private projects for more than 23 years and has a record of high-quality construction throughout our community. Brown Contracting has implemented a strong set of COVID-related safety protocols for its employees, including designating an assigned distancing chief for each of their regional projects.
  
  Funding for the Downtown Riverfront Park development comes from the 2018 Parks and Recreation Bond and Levy, Urban Renewal Agency funds and capital funds.

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• 24,000 native plants added to Downtown Riverfront Park

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  In January, the City of Eugene Parks and Open Space kicked off a planting effort that will add 24,000 native plants to the Downtown Riverfront Park.

  
  

  In the process of turning this neglected industrial land into an active, urban park, the City of Eugene has undertaken significant riverbank and habitat work to enhance one of our proudest assets. Ecological restoration work has included remediation of contaminated soil, grading work to lessen the slope of the river's steep bank, and removal of invasive species.

  
  

  This summer, the second phase will begin with construction of the new park features including paths, furniture, new landscapes and overlooks. The park is projected to open in spring 2021.

• Portion of South Bank Path Reopened

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  A portion of the South Bank Path has reopened following EWEB's environmental cleanup work near the East 8th Ave/Hilyard connection. Thank you for your patience!

• Second Closure for South Bank Bike Path Starts Monday September 16

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  Starting Monday, September 16, construction crews will close the second portion of the South Bank Path, between the Hilyard Street connection and the Frohnmayer Bridge. This new closure will effectively close the path between the DeFazio and Frohnmayer bridges. People should detour through Alton Baker Park.

  
  

  The Eugene Water and Electric Board is closing the Hilyard Street connection to remove significant contamination from the site of a former manufactured gas plant (MPG). Operation at the MPG facility in the early 20th century provided people in Eugene with a reliable source of heat and light, but also left behind an oily waste product. This project will reduce the risk of release of contamination to the Willamette River while laying the foundation for improvements for the Downtown Riverfront site.

  
  

  The work is expected to last through October. The South Bank Path will reopen upon completion.

  
  

  For more information about EWEB’s work, visit www.eweb.org/mgp.

  
  

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• Bank Enhancement Work Begins

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  This week, Downtown Riverfront Park construction will be moving toward the river as crews start bank enhancement work. This means moving massive amounts of dirt to reduce the steep, cliff-like riverbanks so the land will slope gently down to the river. How much dirt? Approximately 10,000 cubic yards of material. That’s enough to cover 4.5 football fields with 1 foot of soil. (Go Ducks!)

  
  

  Regrading and replanting with native species will anchor the soil in the bank and decrease the chance of erosion. The bank will have a more natural slope, improving views and bringing you closer to the river.

  
  

  This bank enhancement work is in-keeping with Eugene's strong conservation ethics. Though we will be removing some non-native vegetation and trees, the development plans for the fall include replanting more than 24,000 stakes, bulbs and shrubs.

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• South Bank Path Closure

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  Starting in July 2019, the South Bank Path will close for up to two years to allow for construction of the Downtown Riverfront site, including a new path through the redevelopment Riverfront Park. The closure will be between the Peter DeFazio and the Frohnmayer bridges. Access to the path from 8th Ave. and Hilyard will be closed during parts of 2019 and 2020.

  
  

  Closing the path will give crews space to safely work, as large construction equipment will be moving through the area. People are encouraged to use the Frohnmayer and DeFazio bridges to detour through Alton Baker Park. Construction is expected to be completed by Spring of 2021.

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• Continued activity and progress at Downtown Riverfront site

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  As the weather warms up, activity on the Downtown Riverfront site will also ramp up. The transformation of the vacant industrial site into a world-class new park and vibrant new neighborhood begins in earnest this spring as site preparations begin to fulfill the community’s vision of reconnecting the City’s downtown to the Willamette River.

  
  

  Over the coming days, weeks, and months, people will start to notice activity and large machinery at the Downtown Riverfront site. Much of the work will prepare the site for future development. For media access to the site please contact Caitlin Estes at 541- 682-8330.

  • Demolition – Several buildings will be removed from the site to make way for the development of the new park and infrastructure, including new streets and sidewalks. The Equipment Repair and Tire Shop buildings as well as the Midgley Building and the Warehouse Operations building are scheduled to be removed over the next few months. Due to the age of the Warehouse Operations building, the City worked with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to document the historic aspects of the building. This information will be used to provide state-level documentation and inform an on-site interpretive installation. Non-profit, BRING Recycling, spent several weeks on site and salvaged as much as possible from the buildings for reuse and recycling including shelves, doors, lockers, plumbing fixtures, and more. Staton Construction, the demolition contractor, will also be separating and recycling, reusing or salvaging at least 50% of the non-hazardous construction, demolition, and debris.
  • Steam Plant – The iconic waterfront Steam Plant is not being removed. A local development team conducted extensive community outreach and has developed a proposal for the redevelopment of the Steam Plant. More information can be found at www.steamplant.us. The proposal is scheduled to go to the City Council at their April 24th noon work session.
  • Riverfront Park – Riverbank enhancements will start in late spring/early summer and include removal of invasive species, laying back of slopes, and replanting the area with a higher diversity of native plants. Learn more about the Riverfront Park at www.eugene-or.gov/RiverfrontPark

  More information on the Downtown Riverfront redevelopment is available at www.eugene-or.gov/Riverfront.

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