Springfield moving forward with Glenwood riverfront development

Stephen Roth and his brother have owned and operated Roaring Rapids Pizza Company on Franklin Boulevard in Glenwood for 25 years. Sometimes out of town visitors to the pizza restaurant, which boasts views of the Willamette River, will ask him about the area.

“And they’re always shaking their heads going, ‘Why are you here by yourself? Why isn’t there stuff around you?'” Roth told Lookout Eugene-Springfield. “And their frustration is really palpable. So, I think if something can happen out here … it’ll happen fairly quickly, and it’ll be a really incredible spot for people to come.”

Roth is one of the property owners partnering with the city of Springfield to create a master plan to redevelop a portion of the riverfront in east Glenwood into a mixed-use district.

Early designs show a checkerboard of blocks north of Franklin Boulevard, from Roaring Rapids to Trak Powersports, for commercial and residential development. The plan also includes a riverfront park and bike path. 

“We need those streets in. We need the blocks identified,” Roth said. “Once that happens, hold on, because I think things are going to really start going.”

The city expects to have a final master plan approved by fall 2026, said Springfield Economic Development Manager Allie Camp. That will set the stage for infrastructure work in the 22-acre area, making it suitable for development. 

“I like to remind people that we’ve never been this far before,” Camp told Lookout Eugene-Springfield. “It’s a big, visible project with lots of interest, and it’s got some oomph behind it to continue on this trajectory.”

How we got here

Glenwood is the one-square-mile area that lies between Eugene and downtown Springfield. The Willamette River shoreline forms the east and north edges of Glenwood and Interstate 5 borders it on the south and west.

In 2004, Springfield voters established the Glenwood Urban Renewal District to create financing for projects to help the area. Urban renewal in Glenwood is funded by tax increment financing, which channels increased property tax revenue from developments in the area, like new hotels, to fund infrastructure improvements elsewhere in the district.

Camp said it took time for urban renewal funding to accrue. From 2016 to 2024, the Springfield Economic Development Agency used the funds to buy property on the Glenwood riverfront. This included properties with single family homes. Camp said the city worked with a private contractor to relocate the eight families living in those homes. Each family received financial assistance with living expenses.

“The goal of federal relocation is to find folks a house that fits their needs,” Camp said.

Some of the families stayed in Glenwood while some moved to other communities. The city demolished the former homes. 

The city is partnering with the Roth brothers, who own the 8-acre property that Roaring Rapids and Camp Putt Adventure Golf Park sit on, to make decisions for the master plan. Homes for Good, an affordable housing agency in Lane County, is also a partner on the project, because it owns an undeveloped parcel on the riverfront. 

“This area is so special,” Camp said. “It’s really rare to have 20 acres of riverfront available for development in a community.”

What’s in the plan? 

Camp said the goal of the Glenwood redevelopment project is to connect the community to the river and increase the tax base. The Glenwood Refinement Plan, which Springfield updated in 2014 with community input, is guiding the development.

Infrastructure renderings show a riverfront street parallel to Franklin Boulevard running along a park, with a promenade street perpendicular to it going through the middle of the development area from Franklin to the park. A middle street is expected to run east-west, with two north-south streets planned for each side of the development. 

Specific park designs will come later, but Camp said the refinement plan calls for a riverfront path connection through Glenwood. Properties outside of the master plan will be required to dedicate space for a path if they develop.

The city is working with Rowell Brokaw Architects and Walker Macy landscape architects to design the master plan. Developers Jill Sherman of Edlen & Co and Mark Miksis of deChase Miksis are also involved.

“These developers are part of the process of making sure that we’re designing a concept that’s workable for them in the future,” Camp said. 

In April, Springfield annexed the riverfront property from Lane County into the city limits. Currently, the development agency is going through land use changes to provide more flexibility for development, Camp said.

“The approach with going through the development code is that we want to make sure that we’re not putting up barriers in the future for good things to happen,” she said. 

The area is not zoned for single family homes, so developments will include higher density housing, Camp said. Roth said they plan to relocate Camp Putt to the riverfront park and put housing where the miniature golf course is now. 

Homes for Good will begin applying for funding to develop its portion of the site after the master plan is finalized, said Audrey Banks, the agency’s real estate development director. 

“We’ve been really excited to be part of this for quite a while,” Banks said.

Homes for Good purchased the property in 2018. Preliminary plans for a project called Glenwood Place call for 147 apartment units split among three four-story buildings.

An ‘orphan highway’

A 2015 grant application for Franklin Boulevard reconstruction calls the road “a five-lane orphan highway with no sidewalks or bike lanes.”

In the early 20th century, the Glenwood area was a popular stop for travelers on the former Pacific Highway, now Franklin Boulevard. But Interstate 5 construction in the 1960s moved north-south statewide travel off of Franklin Boulevard, according to the grant application.

“One critical legacy of the old highway is that it is out of scale with the community and creates a pronounced gap in the metro area’s safe walking and biking network for a majority of the least advantaged citizens in Springfield,” the application states. 

Improvements over the past decade to Franklin Boulevard have helped to create better conditions for the development of Glenwood, Camp said.

The city has installed two roundabouts, protected bike lanes, wide sidewalks, landscaping and lighting to improve safety and mobility on Franklin Boulevard and catalyze development in Glenwood. 

“There are pieces of property that have stayed the same way for a very long time,” Camp said. “When folks know that the city is making investments in public infrastructure, walking and biking infrastructure, things that make the corridor look nicer, it makes their property more appealing.”

The city is planning for construction to start in 2027 on a new roundabout on Franklin Boulevard at Mississippi Avenue.

Inspiration from Eugene

Eugene has been going through its own riverfront development. The city is investing urban renewal dollars with the goal of connecting the city’s downtown core to the Willamette River. Tenants have moved into the first two apartment buildings, with 11 more developments in the works.

Camp said she commends Eugene for the work the city has done on its riverfront. 

“I like to look at where they’re at now, because I know that these projects take such a long time, and they take so many people, and I like to think, ‘oh, we’ll be there soon!’” she said.

Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled the first name of Stephen Roth.