New Thurston family center is a dream years in the making

A family center is opening near Thurston High School, bringing counseling services, community space, a coffee shop and a pizza restaurant to the area in east Springfield. 

The privately funded Joyce A. Langeliers Family Center is a product of the nonprofit organization Thurston Life Foundation, which broke ground at the site in January 2025. The property at 5807 A St. has two buildings with a shared outdoor plaza. 

Moving into the buildings are Northlight Counseling, which opened its doors to clients Jan. 5, Track Town Pizza, the Washburne Cafe and Young Life, a Christian youth organization. 

Ron Sauer, board chairman for Thurston Life Foundation, said he envisions the space being a hub for the community. 

“I think it’s going to be a tremendous gift,” Sauer said. “Whether it’s students coming over from the high school at lunchtime to sit around the table and experience community or a birthday party with a family or adults coming in after a football game on a Friday night, this will be a place that we can truly experience community and celebration with one another.”

Increasing access to counseling services

A local pastor, Bob Scroggins, who had a dream of developing a counseling center in Springfield, formed the Thurston Life Foundation in 2012.

“Even to this day, the population is underserved when it comes to counseling services,” Sauer said. “The majority of those are across the river in Eugene. Part of the challenge for kids and families is to have access to counseling.”

The plan lay dormant for several years after Scroggins’ wife was diagnosed with cancer and they moved from the area. But the dream was rekindled three years ago when a friend of Scroggins and Sauer, Roger Langeliers, helped the foundation purchase the A Street property. The three men had attended Thurston High School together. 

Langeliers, who lives in Springfield and owned a construction company for many years before selling it to his son, has helped fund the center’s construction. It is named for his wife of nearly 58 years, Joyce, who is in a memory care facility. 

“When we decided to do something there, I thought, ‘I’ll do it, and I’ll honor Joyce,’ because we both went to Thurston High School and went to Young Life,” Langeliers said. 

As the project resumed, Scroggins, who lives in Phoenix now, called Sauer to say he still felt strongly about the vision. Scroggins visited Springfield to learn about the development. He still serves on the foundation’s board. 

Sauer said the projected cost for the center’s construction was $3 million, which the foundation secured through private funding and donations. The foundation later determined it needed an additional $1 million for development and hired a capital campaign director to raise the funds. 

Community partnerships

The center’s northern building has a Young Life office and a rentable 10-person conference room with video and sound equipment. It is also home to a new Washburne Cafe, called The Washburne East, with an open seating area around a fireplace.

Sauer said Thurston lacks a sit-down coffee shop. Before the family center’s groundbreaking, he approached the owners of The Washburne Cafe on downtown Main Street and asked them about opening a second location. 

The cafe’s owners, Mindy and Derek Weber, knew Sauer from attending Springfield High School and being involved in Young Life.

“They presented the whole concept behind the family center, and I actually cried,” Mindy Weber said. “I just thought it was so awesome, and we really wanted to be a part of something that was so focused on the community.”

She said it was important to Langeliers that the dining area feel like a living room, because it will also provide space for Young Life to meet.

The new coffee shop won’t have a full kitchen but will have fresh baked pastries made in-house, as well as premade cold sandwiches and salads for lunch.

A separate building entrance takes visitors into the counseling office. It is the first Springfield location for Northlight Counseling, formerly Arise Counseling Service, which has an office in Eugene. Therapist John Santin said he met Sauer nearly 30 years ago at a Young Life camp. They reconnected three years ago, and Sauer showed him the blueprints for the family center. 

Santin said the office, which serves children, adults, families and couples, hopes to establish a connection with the high school.

“But really we just want to be a presence in the community for whoever needs services,” Santin said. 

The southern building is home to a new Track Town Pizza restaurant and a spacious community room. Young Life will use the room for meetings, and it will be available for rent by the public. 

Hanging above the restaurant is a replica of the University of Oregon’s Matthew Knight Arena jumbotron with four TV screens. Track Town Pizza’s first location is on Franklin Boulevard across from the arena. The new space also has a covered outdoor seating area, a delivery entrance and a party room. 

Colby Howard, kitchen supervisor at Track Town Pizza, said the restaurant plans to open the second week of February. 

“We’re just very excited to be out there,” said Howard, who also attended Thurston High School.

Sauer said a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for the center is planned for Feb. 28.