For decades, the Standby Steam Plant, located in Eugene’s developing downtown riverfront neighborhood, has sat vacant. Years of vandalism have broken dozens of windows and graffiti scrawls across the interior walls of the dilapidated building.
Now, this 28,000-square-foot masonry and steel building is getting a new opportunity to provide for the community after being decommissioned.
Constructed in 1931 and vacated in 2012, the Standby Steam Plant housed three steam boilers and turbines. Over its service, the facility generated standby electrical power to the pumps that brought in river water to the city’s water treatment plant and later directly supplied heating to businesses in downtown Eugene.
What’s planned for the former steam plant?
Design proposals from the local development team, being led by Mark Miksis, of deChase Miksis, indicate plans to re-envision the building as a vibrant, mixed-use center utilizing river proximity and active spaces to draw community members in with food, drink, music and art…