An amendment to Lane County land use rules has set the stage for the north Gateway area in Springfield to become a health care campus.
The Campus Industrial zone in Eugene dates back to the 1980s. The goal was to attract offices and light manufacturing, with a focus on the tech sector. In Eugene there are four such areas: the Greenhill Technology Park, the former Hynix plant and Willow Creek Circle in southwest Eugene, plus most of Chad Drive in northeast Eugene. In Springfield there’s a similar zone for the North Gateway area.
Both cities have struggled to find interested developers. In Springfield the area is 45% vacant or underdeveloped, according to a staff report, representing 116.2 vacant acres and 6.8 acres that are underdeveloped or nonconforming…