A wave of development is headed for Chad Drive off Coburg Road in northeast Eugene.
Three entities — the Oregon State Police, Eugene-based Slocum Orthopedics and Eugene Gastroenterology — have bought big parcels of open land along Chad.
OSP plans a 44,000-plus square foot forensics lab/medical examiner’s office to handle agency growth.
Slocum Orthopedics, headquartered on Coburg Road in Eugene, in October bought a parcel next to the OSP site, property deeds show. Slocum didn’t respond to messages from Eugene Weekly.
Eugene Gastroenterology, a group of doctors that leases medical space at the PeaceHealth RiverBend hospital complex in Springfield, in September bought a large parcel next to the OSP piece. The group recently told the city it plans a 33,600-square foot medical office, clinic and surgery center there.
The developments will all be prominent: on the south side of Chad, looking toward Randy Papé Beltline to the south, and immediately west of the former Register-Guard newspaper building.
In the early 1990s, city leaders envisioned Chad becoming a high-tech “campus-industrial” hub to bring jobs to the region. But that concept fizzled, and the city allowed more diverse businesses. The strip is anchored by Costco on the west end, and the Veterans Administration medical center, a car dealership and the former Register-Guard property on the east.
OSP, Slocum and Eugene Gastroenterology all bought their parcels from a company held by the Baker family, former owners of the newspaper, deeds show. The family bought about 68 acres along Chad in the 1990s and built the newspaper office. They have sold off surplus pieces of land ever since, including to the VA and the car dealership. The family sold the newspaper business in 2018, but kept ownership of the newspaper building, which it has carved into leased-out office suites.
OSP says it paid $3.79 million for the 6.5 acres on Chad it bought in 2023. A business formed by Eugene Gastroenterology’s doctors paid $3.3 million for the 4.5 acres they acquired, according to the deed. A sales price was not disclosed for the 6.6 acres Slocum bought, but records show that at the same time Slocum bought the land, it took out a $3.2 million mortgage to help with the purchase.
OSP aims to complete its building by late 2026, says Capt. Kyle Kennedy, an OSP spokesman. But, he cautions, “many factors impact those timelines. We are in the initial stage of securing a design-build contractor for the project.” The lab previously was delayed because of rising costs, OSP says in its budget document.
Currently, forensic work is done at OSP’s Springfield office on Gateway Street, and medical examiner work is done at RiverBend, Kennedy says. That work will transfer to the new building, which will house about 40 staffers, he says.
The Chad site met OSP’s needs for size, zoning, price and central location, he says.
In its budget, OSP says it also plans to raze its old regional office on Gateway Street and build a larger replacement facility there by 2027. The agency says it has bond funding approval for both projects.
“The agency’s key drivers for facility needs includes aging and failing current location structures, staff size increase, and evidence storage,” OSP wrote in its budget. The Eugene lab will join OSP’s lineup of labs in Portland, Bend, Pendleton and Central Point.
Eugene Gastroenterology did not respond to questions from EW.
The practice’s Chad building would be two stories and have 203 parking spaces, according to materials filed with the city. The group hopes to begin site preparation in August and construction in the fall.
Eugene Gastroenterology and Oregon Endoscopy Center — which is owned by Eugene Gastroenterology’s doctors — currently lease space in the medical practice building owned by PeaceHealth that sits next to the RiverBend hospital. It is unclear whether the two practices would move all their operations into the Chad building. The timeline of any move is unclear.