Fifth Street Market developer looking at second downtown Springfield property

Obie Companies, owner of the 5th Street Public Market in Eugene, is interested in acquiring and redeveloping a downtown Springfield property adjacent to another lot the company is already considering for development. 

Springfield Economic Development Agency, the city’s urban renewal arm, owns 437 Main Street. The agency’s board voted Monday, April 13, to enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement with Obie Companies for the parcel, which is the site of the former US Bank building, at the southeast corner of Fourth and Main streets.

Board member and Lane County Commissioner David Loveall abstained from the vote after declaring a potential conflict of interest because his company, Masaka Properties, owns two adjacent properties. The remaining six board members voted to approve the agreement.

It is the first step toward determining if a project at the site is feasible. The board, which is made up of Springfield City Council members and the county commissioner for Springfield, may not work with or sell the site to another party during the 12-month agreement. It will continue to be used as a two-hour parking lot during that time.

“This is a nonbinding agreement that gives the developer time to do their research and explore the site’s potential,” urban renewal analyst Sienna Fitzpatrick said during the meeting. 

The agency bought the lot in 2024 as a future redevelopment opportunity to support the goals of the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan. “Attracting high-quality development” is a primary goal, according to the meeting agenda. 

Obie Companies sent a letter to the city in November 2025 expressing interest in the site, which is a full city block. The developer is already considering putting a four- or five-story apartment building on a different city-owned parking lot at 538 Main St., south of the Springfield Public Library and between the Emerald Art Center and Springfield History Museum. The projects would be the developer’s first in Springfield. 

In the map above, the two pins represent two lots Obie Companies is currently considering for development.

“Given the property’s location immediately adjacent to the Main Street site currently under due diligence, we believe this parcel offers a strategic opportunity to create a cohesive and vibrant mixed-use district that complements the character and momentum of downtown,” according to the letter, which was signed by company president Brian Obie and included in the meeting agenda packet. 

The letter says the 12-month agreement will give both parties time to explore the property’s potential and ensure alignment with the city’s goals for downtown revitalization. 

“We anticipate the potential to develop a substantial amount of new ground floor commercial space and even a market style approach with open air access to shops and eateries,” the letter states.

According to the agreement, Obie Companies is tasked with soliciting a market study, providing a development proposal, creating a financial feasibility analysis, proposing a delivery time frame coordinating efforts with the proposed 538 Main Street project and submitting partnership requests to the economic development agency. 

The Obie letter states access to the Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemption program or a comparable incentive would be critical to project feasibility. The developer is also interested in a parking partnership with the city. 

Obie Companies is also developing a hotel and residences along the Willamette Riverfront in Corvallis.