Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | T | The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR)

DEDICATED TO THE CORE.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Sherri Buri McDonald The Register-Guard

There's a resurgence of business in downtown Eugene, and it's not just because some attractive rents can be had amid the vacant storefronts.

Many of these business owners say downtown is at a turning point, and they're willing to stake their business futures on the future of downtown.

They seem almost prescient now, the business owners who set up downtown stores or offices in the past year or so - before developers started raising the possibility of major redevelopment in the heart of the city.

But most of them chose their locations long before Whole Foods began eyeing a site on East Broadway for a large, natural foods grocery, and local developers Tom Connor and Don Woolley revealed their intention to team up with a Minneapolis-based developer to transform several blocks of largely vacant space along West Broadway into housing, shops and offices.

Most are hard-core downtowners, willing to link their own livelihoods with a long-suffering part of town that they believe possesses vast potential.

"We're dedicated to being here," said Aimee Allen, co-owner of LetterHead, an eclectic card and gift shop on Eighth Avenue. And that dedication is steadfast, whether redevelopment happens incrementally, or in one, big splashy project, she said.

In recent years, the downtown has seen a constant ebb and flow of business closures and openings.

But this latest group of businesses is larger than usual, and they're consciously deciding to be downtown, said Sue Prichard, a commercial real estate broker who has handled leases or property sales for most of the newcomers.

Among the stores that have opened downtown in the past couple of years are LetterHead, Footloose Massage Center, Freudian Slip - a lingerie store - the Oregon Wine Warehouse, Tibet Fine Design, Vintage Home Design & Furnishings, and Opus6ix - an art gallery. Business professionals, including the Ulum Group and Rowell Brokaw architects have shown their confidence in and support of downtown by buying property and setting up their offices in the city's core.

About a year and a half ago, the Ulum Group, a Eugene-based public relations agency, bought...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!