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The new owner would need to redevelop the parcel within five years, in a way that complies with the Glenwood Urban Renewal Plan. The plan is intended to turn the area west of downtown Springfield into a thriving riverfront district.
Little by little, Springfield’s leaders are working to redevelop the Glenwood neighborhood.
The latest piece of the puzzle is a 0.22-acre vacant lot on the south side of Franklin Boulevard, about a quarter mile west of the bridges into downtown Springfield. The Springfield Economic Development Agency, which owns the parcel, has an interested buyer and is stipulating the buyer must develop the lot within five years.
The agency’s board approved a purchase-and-sale agreement June 23 for the property at 4095 Franklin Blvd., west of Concord Street. Lutfi Thabet is listed as the interested buyer. The agreement calls for a purchase price of $75,000.
Thabet is the owner and president of Thabet Management Inc., which operates the Buy2 convenience stores in Oregon, according to the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.
Thabet Management did not return a phone call requesting comment from Lookout Eugene-Springfield. According to Lane County property records, Thabet owns a collection of properties on Franklin Boulevard between Concord Street and Brooklyn Street, including a Buy2 store at 4197 Franklin Blvd.
The Springfield Economic Development Agency purchased the property, which was formerly Tom’s Tapper Tavern, in 2012 for $249,000, according to city records.
Allie Camp, the city’s economic development manager, said the lot was 0.30 acres at the time and had a building on it. The city used 0.08 acres to support improvements on Franklin Boulevard, including adding a sidewalk, bike infrastructure and plantings.
“The Franklin Boulevard redesign project greatly assisted in revitalizing this section of Glenwood, and the property at 4095 Franklin was important in accomplishing the redesign project,” Camp said in an email.
The vacant site today does not have direct access to Franklin Boulevard because of the sidewalk.
The economic development agency decided to offer the property for sale in June 2024. According to the purchase-and-sale agreement, the buyer must start development of the property within five years of the sale, and the development must comply with the purposes of the Glenwood Urban Renewal Plan.
The purchase-and-sale agreement included the redevelopment language to ensure the transaction contributes to revitalization and does not remain vacant, Camp said.
The property is across Franklin Boulevard from the Glenwood Riverfront Master Plan Area, a 30-acre riverfront site being analyzed for mixed-use development.
What is Glenwood?
According to the city, Glenwood is an approximately one-square-mile area that lies between Eugene and downtown Springfield. It is abutted by I-5 on the west and south and the Willamette River on the east and north.
Springfield voters established the Glenwood Urban Renewal District in 2004, and the renewal plan was created thereafter. It seeks to turn Glenwood into a thriving riverfront district with mixed use development and industrial sites that contribute to economic growth.
The Springfield City Council in April unanimously approved the annexation of 21 acres of Glenwood riverfront property north of Franklin Boulevard, bringing the area inside the city limits, to support the riverfront revitalization. The annexed area stretches between Roaring Rapids Pizza Company and Trak Powersports. The city has contracted with Rowell Brokaw Architects & Walker Macy Landscape Architects to develop the Glenwood Riverfront Master Plan Area.