By Christian Wihtol
A Texas-based investment exec has snapped up a controversial old bauble of Eugene real estate.
William Cornog — a former leader at private-equity giant KKR and a current member of a University of Oregon advisory board — on March 14 bought the Treetops mansion at 2237 Spring Boulevard from the University of Oregon for $2 million, according to the deed.
Donated to the UO nearly a century ago, the building in the elite Fairmount neighborhood was fought over for years by the donor’s heirs. The UO eventually obtained clear title to the house in 2018, and, after foot-dragging, put it on the market recently with a real estate broker for $2.5 million.
Cornog paid $500,000 in cash, and signed an IOU to pay the UO the balance by Dec. 31, deeds show.
How will the UO use the dough? Wage hikes for workers who are close to going on strike?
Cornog is no stranger to Eugene, he grew up here and graduated from South Eugene High School. He’s a volunteer member of the external advisory board for the UO’s Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact. Since 2006, he’s bought and sold several residential properties in Lane County, deeds show.
Completed in 1911, Treetops totals 8,000 square feet on 1.5 wooded acres. The property demands attention from its owner. The UO spent thousands of dollars a year heating and repairing it. Last year, the UO replaced a failed boiler system and related electrical equipment, and in 2021, it replaced a water main, permits show.
Cornog will face a property tax bill of about $25,000 a year. As a state agency, the UO did not pay property taxes.
In Eugene, $2 million is the upper end of the market. But on Cornog’s home turf of Dallas, it’s loose change. The house he and his wife own there was worth $16.2 million in 2023, according to D Magazine’s list of the 100 spendiest homes in the Dallas area. The Cornogs clocked in at No. 64.
The UO spent years untangling the status of Treetops. A wealthy family donated it in 1938 on condition it be used as the home of either the UO president or the state chancellor of education. But the president has another UO-provided home — the nearby McMorran House at 2315 McMorran Street — and the chancellor used the place only fitfully, sparking a lawsuit from some heirs. Then, in 2015, the state eliminated the chancellor position, depriving the house of its nominal tenant. It took the UO until 2018 to get all the heirs to waive their claims in return for unspecified compensation, deeds show.
Cornog’s had a dizzying career in high finance. He headed KKR Capstone, a unit of KKR, the New York-based behemoth that buys, manages and sells businesses worldwide in a quest for profits that beat stock market returns. KKR Capstone helps KKR pick acquisitions and run them for optimal profits.
After 20 years at KKR, Cornog quit in 2022 and now serves on boards of businesses, including a products logistics company and an electric motorbike maker.
Bricks $ Mortar is a column anchored by Christian Wihtol, who worked as an editor and writer at The Register-Guard in Eugene 1990-2018, much of the time focused on real estate, economic development and business. Reach him at Christian@EugeneWeekly.com