Doug Randels, co-owner of Theo’s Coffee House, has noticed a sizable drop in patronage since Symantec’s relocation to Springfield Jan.
2. Although discouraged about Symantec’s move, Randels remains optimistic about the reopening of Broadway bringing in new customers.
Symantec makes bittersweet exit
■Although the first week
was hard, most businesses are
looking atthe benefits
of Symantec’s departure
By Marty Toohey
Oregon Daily Emerald
An already struggling downtown
bid farewell to Internet security com
pany Symantec and its 800-employ
ees one week ago, but some business
owners aren’t shedding tears over the
company’s departure.
Symantec, maker of the Norton
Anti-Virus program, officially opened
its new Springfield building Wednes
day, Jan. 2. Although some down
town businesses, including Theo’s
Coffee House, were hit hard in the first
week of the company’s departure,
others look forward to the long-term
benefits of filling Symantec’s old of
fice spaces with retail stores.
“Certainly the effect of (Syman
tec’s) leaving will be felt in the short
term,” Broadway Market owner Rich
Hardy said. “But it won’t be that se
vere. Sometimes their workers came
and bought individual items, like can
dy and cigarettes, but you never really
saw 500 workers out on Broadway
milling around.”
Hardy added that Symantec’s
workers did not frequent the shop
anyway because the company pro
vided its own catered cafeteria.
Hardy said Symantec’s 1993 pur
chase of its main building, which had
Parking
continued from page 1
lots, city and county fees, and the fac
ulty portion of the Lane County Tran
sit District Ridership program.
At the end of each academic year,
surplus revenue goes into the park
ing reserve fund, which is earmarked
for parking improvements and addi
tions. The total surplus for 2000-01
was $127,000, which brings the total
amount in the reserve fund to around
$718,000, Hicks said.
“We keep that money in reserve for
opportunities to buy property or
emergency expenditures,” he said. He
added that one long-term plan for the
money is to help pay for a parking
structure on or near campus — al
though he was quick to point out that
decision is still far from finalized.
“Parking is part of the University of
Oregon and needs to blend and fit
with the University,” Hicks said. “For
us to just say we’re going to build a
parking structure is not realistic.”
Parking has been a contentious is
sue on campus for years. A full-year
parking permit costs $85 for students
and $150 for faculty and staff. It costs
been a Bon Marche store, hurt down
town by reducing consumer foot traf
fic. He said his business should soon
pick up, however, with the construc
tion to open Broadway to motor traf
fic scheduled to begin in May and
end in September. A new public li
brary is also scheduled to open in
December on 10th Avenue and
Charnelton Street.
Symantec’s lease on its downtown
property does not expire until 2006,
and Hardy said he is looking forward
to new retail shops opening in the
property.
“When we first leased the proper
ty, we had always planned to move
into a bigger building,” company
spokesman Phil Weiler said. “We
knew we might have to get someone
else into the property. Obviously it’s
in our best interest to get it subletted as
quickly as possible.” Weiler said
Symantec is working with the city’s
metro partnership to put retail busi
nesses into the five properties, which
total more than 162,000 square feet of
office space.
Companies that move into the sub
letted space will also receive Syman
tec’s 550 spaces in the Broadway
Place parking garages, which the
company purchased from the city for
the duration of the downtown lease,
according to Eugene Parking Director
George Jessie. The downtown pedes
trian mall is a four-block area of most
ly empty storefronts. Groups of three
or four locals occasionally wander
an additional $42 7 to reserve a space
from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday
through Friday, and $515 to reserve a
space at all times — except for peo
ple with disabilities, who can reserve
spaces for free when they purchase a
permit. Some consider these rates
exorbitant given the fact that DPS
sells about 6,000 permits per year for
3,200 spaces.
The hooded parking meters have
further exacerbated the problem for
many people. Permits allow parking
at certain meters without paying, but
during games and events at
McArthur Court the meters on Uni
versity Street are covered with col
ored hoods reading “no parking. ”
Hicks said that DPS hoods the me
ters the night before an event, but the
spaces are open to parking until 4
p.m. the day of the event.
“The hoods have lettering with the
hours for parking,” Hicks said. “Spots
do get filled, but usually there are very
few left by game time. We tow maybe
one car every other game. ”
Jones, a Spanish major, said he has
never purchased a University parking
permit and would never consider do
ing so. Since he lives near campus,
Jones said he usually walks to campus
through or play hackey-sack in front
of one of the empty business spaces,
but for the most part, downtown is
silent, sometimes even during the
noon hour.
“There is a silver lining to the
downtown situation, with the library
.sand the courthouse opening up, but
it’s kind of a hard silver lining to find
right now,” said Dave Hauser, presi
dent of the Eugene Area Chamber of
Commerce.
Hardy said he expects companies
move in before rent skyrockets.
“There is a lot of property on the
other side of us (from the Symantec
building) that’s dead right now, and
when some businesses move in there
the whole downtown will be much
better off,” he said.
Until then, Broadway Market is hop
ing to “weather the storm,” according
to store manager Angus James.
Some businesses aren’t as pleased
about the loss of 800 potential cus
tomers, however. Doug Randels, co
owner of Theo’s Coffee House, said
that his business was down about 25
percent in the first week since Syman
tec’s departure.
“They were good customers, and
they bought high-end items like lattes
and mochas, not just cheap coffee,”
Randels said. “We’ll miss their busi
ness, but they were fun, too, and we’ll
miss that.”
E-mail community reporter Marty Toohey at
martytoohey@dailyemerald.com.
and buys a $15 area parking permit
from the City of Eugene each year.
This allows him to park on city streets
near his home beyond posted hours.
But many who don’t live on or
near campus continue to buy park
ing permits, pump quarters into
parking meters or rack up parking ci
tations. According to Hicks, nearly
70 percent of all citations are issued
for exceeding time at a parking me
ter or failing to obtain or display a
permit. The cost of exceeding time at
a meter is $15 and the cost of failing
to display or purchase a permit is
$20. The citation for parking in a re
stricted lot is $25.
As of Oct. 30, DPS had sold 5,170
parking permits, and Stamm said it’s
likely that more will be sold by the
end of the school year. Parking en
forcement officers have issued 8,816
parking citations so far in 2001-02,
and Stamm said he expects that
number to increase as well.
“That’s not out of the ordinary,” he
said, adding that while the numbers
vary from year to year, DPS typically
issues “between 23,000 and 40,000
citations per year. ’’
E-mail highereducation editor Leon Tovey at
leontovey@dailyemerald.com.
News brief
Groups fail to vote on prostitution
A lack of quorum forced two Eu
gene neighborhood associations to
cancel a vote on whetherto publish in
their monthly newsletters the names
of people convicted of solicitation.
The Jefferson Area Neighbors and
the Westside Neighborhood Quality
Project were two voters short of the
20 necessary to vote. They will de
cide the fate of the resolution during
their next general meeting Feb. 12.
The resolution called for publish
ing the name and address of each
person convicted by municipal
court for solicitation. In Eugene,
both the buyer and seller of prostitu
tion are convicted of solicitation.
Prostitution has plagued the
neighborhoods for years, said Paul
Thompson, co-chairman of the
Westside Neighborhood Quality
Project. The two neighborhoods in
clude the area between Willamette
Street on the east to Chambers Street
on the west and Seventh Avenue on
the north to 18th Avenue on the
south.
“Our neighborhood had a grow
ing issue with prostitution for many,
many years,” Thompson said. “It
has gone down tremendously, but it
has not gone away,” he said.
Neighborhood association mem
bers believe that threatening “ johns”
through the publication of their
names will be a deterrent for cus
tomers of prostitution.
“There have been johns who have
told us that they’re not looking to be
exposed,” Thompson said. He
added there were “in excess” of 100
convictions of solicitations during
2000, most of them in his neighbor
hood.
—By John Liebhardt
ASUO I
NOW HIRING
Positions Available:
Multicultural Advocate
Advocate for and develop programs addressing concerns of differently-abled students, students of
color, gay and lesbian students, and other under-represented groups, and to be a liaison between
these groups and the ASUO.
Greek Advocate
I Serve as a liaison between the University of Oregon's Creek Community; including all ethnically,
cuttiiralty, and professionally based chapters, the ASUO, and the greater student body.
Programs Administrator
Provide information and assistance to ASUO programs, and approve and monitor student programs.
Every applicant guaranteed an interview. Applications available in
ASUO Office (Suite 4 EMU)
Due Friday, January 11 by 5 p.m.
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