Eugene welcomes new apartments to Downtown Riverfront neighborhood

Hannarose McGuinness, Eugene Register-Guard
·2 min read
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Jim Atkins, co-owner of Atkins Dame, LLC., Mayor Lucy Vinis and Denny Braud, director of the city of Eugene’s Planning and Development department, cut the ribbon for the opening of the Heartwood on June 13. The Heartwood is the River District's first residential building.
Jim Atkins, co-owner of Atkins Dame, LLC., Mayor Lucy Vinis and Denny Braud, director of the city of Eugene’s Planning and Development department, cut the ribbon for the opening of the Heartwood on June 13. The Heartwood is the River District's first residential building.

Dozens of community members, elected officials and city staff gathered Thursday among live piano and cello, a food truck and river views to welcome the first residential building in Eugene’s Downtown Riverfront neighborhood.

The Heartwood is a four-story residential building located east of the Ferry Street Bridge viaduct on Fifth Avenue. It offers 95 market-rate apartments.

Denny Braud, director of the city of Eugene’s Planning and Development department, said the process of developing the riverfront into a neighborhood has taken a couple of decades and countless hours of ideating, planning and follow-through.

“About 25 years ago, EWEB decided they don’t really need to be on the river anymore, so it was a great opportunity for us to rethink, what are the possibilities here along the river, the river being maybe the most valuable asset we have as a community,” Braud said.

Developer Atkins Dame, LLC. was a key partner. Co-owner Jim Atkins noted the gathering as a “milestone celebration” in the continuing development of the riverfront area.

“Today is surely not an end. It’s an important step, however, in the right direction," Atkins said. "Today we celebrate, for the first time in nearly a century, there are people once again living, working and playing in the River District."

Mayor Lucy Vinis joined the celebration, directing attendees to let out a cheerful “woo-hoo!"

“This is who we can be when we are our best selves, of holding onto that ideal and working through all of the hard details that make it happen, bringing all of the right people to the table to do that work,” Vinis said.

The ongoing development of The River District includes the current construction of the Portal, another four-story residential building at the southwest intersection of Fourth Avenue and Mill Street with 130 market-rate apartments. The new City Hall is part of this district's development.

Phase two of the Downtown Riverfront Park includes the Downtown Riverfront Plaza, which is planned to begin construction next week for an expected opening in summer 2025. The parcel located at the northwest intersection of Fourth Avenue and Mill Street is reserved for a 75-unit affordable-housing development. The parcel adjacent to the Heartwood is planned to host a restaurant in the future. The former EWEB Steam Plant is also planned for renovation.

“I am so proud of this community for holding onto this vision, for doing the hard work of bringing us here and for being able to celebrate today — how fantastic,” Vinis said.

Hannarose McGuinness is The Register-Guard’s growth and development reporter. Contact her at 541-844-9859 or hmcguinness@registerguard.com

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Eugene’s Downtown Riverfront neighborhood adds apartments