Downtown poised for growth,
Commerce Chamber reports
Despite Oregon’s troubled
economy, the downtown
blocks have shown many
signs of revitalization
By A. Sho Ikeda
Senior News Reporter
Despite a slow economy and high
unemployment in Oregon, Eugene
business experts remain optimistic
about the city's economic future
For the past two years Oregon and
Washington state have seen the na
tion's highest unemployment. The
unemployment rate in Oregon was
8.1 percent in July, points higher
than the national rate of 6.2 percent,
said Dave Hauser, president of the
Eugene Area Chamber of Com
merce. Lane County's unemploy
ment rate was 7.7 percent in July.
Hauser blamed Oregon's eco
nomic slump on the state's high-tech
industry losses. He also noted that
-the drop in timber sales during the
1980s and 1990s hurt Eugene busi
nesses. Eugene fared better than oth
er Oregon cities, however, because of
its diverse economy, he said.
"1 suppose Oregon's general econ
omy is challenged, but Eugene is do
ing better than the rest of the state,"
Hauser said. "We don't rely on a sin
gle product."
Hauser said institutions like the
University and PeaceHealth Oregon
help the local economy through em
ployment and their interaction with
other businesses.
While downtown Eugene has
seen its share of ups and downs
over the past few years, Hauser said
he thinks the area will see a resur
Shoppers
might notice
many "for
lease" signs
and empty
storefronts
in the
downtown
Eugene area.
Jessica Waters
Photo Editor
gence in the future.
"I think the downtown area is po
sitioned for future growth," Hauser
said. "I think we're heading in the
right direction with new projects
such as the new library, new housing
and the new federal courthouse."
Jack Roberts, executive director of
the Lane Metro Partnership, said the
loss of businesses within the Eugene
Springfield area, such as the Sony
compact disc factory and retailers
like Montgomery Ward, have hurt
the local economy. He added that
there are many businesses, however,
that remain successful.
"There are many companies that
are doing well," Roberts said. Roberts
said organic food growers are pros
pering in Eugene, along with wood
products producers.
Roberts also dted the Milken Insti
tute's recent Best Performing Cities
index, which ranked Eugene No. 85
among the country's top 200 eco
nomically performing cities. Eugene,
which ranked No. 103 last year, sur
passed some larger cities such as
Seattle and San Francisco.
"Eugene and its downtown area
has been hurt over the past few years,
but we fully expect a turnaround in
the future," Roberts said. "There are
many positive signs."
And Big City Gamin' could be
counted as one of those positive signs.
The video game retailer first opened its
doors at West 13th Avenue and
Willamette Street in 2001. Since then,
it has opened a store in Corvallis and
is planning to expand into Portland.
"We're doing pretty great," owner
lustin Field said.
Field said most of his business' suc
cess comes from word-of-mouth ad
vertising. He said the Eugene store's
location, cheap game rentals and
playable video game consoles offer an
appealing combination to customers.
The store has nine employees.
Field said he has seen nearby
downtown businesses come and go,
but that his Eugene store has done
very well since its opening.
"I think we filled a certain niche,
and that's why we're doing so well,"
Field said.
Contact the city/state politics reporter
at shoikeda@dailyemerald.com.
University bolsters
Eugene’s economy
A Milken Institute report
ranked Eugene's economy
as the 85th-best nationally
By A. Sho Ikeda
Senior News Reporter
The city of Eugene jumped signifi
cantly in the Milken Institute's re
cently released Best Performing
Cities index, despite Oregon's
gloomy economic outlook, an in
crease partly attributed to the Uni
versity's influence.
The Milken index — which meas
ures where jobs are being created,
where economies are growing and
where businesses are thriving —
ranked Eugene at No. 85 among the
country's top 200 best-performing
cities. Eugene, which was ranked No.
103 last year, surpassed some larger
cities like Seattle and San Francisco.
Other Oregon cities ranked by the in
dex include Salem at No. 133, and
Portland at No. 141.
According to the Milken report,
cities where government and higher
education play an important role
in the local economy are less
susceptible to downturns in the na
tional economy.
Although state funding for higher
education has dropped, the Universi
ty's level of sponsored research grew
to a record $75 million in 2002, a 30
percent increase from the previous
year, said Rich Linton, University vice
president for research.
Linton explained that 95 percent
of the $75 million came from non
state sources — 85 percent from fed
eral sources and 10 percent came
from private donations. Much of the
non-state funding goes toward pay
ing graduate student research assis
tants and technical support staff.
Linton also cited a U.S. Department
of Commerce report, which showed
that for every million dollars spent
in academic research in Oregon, 47
jobs are supported.
"That makes for quite a few jobs
that $75 million is supporting,"
Linton said.
The University of Oregon Fact
book states that the University is
Lane County's largest employer and
contributes nearly $400 million a
year to the Eugene economy
through direct spending, employee
payroll, construction contracts and
student spending.
Research at the University spurred
the creation of start-up companies
that help support 250 jobs at the
Riverfront Research Park, linton said,
adding that the University is on the
verge of creating several more compa
nies that will contribute to Eugene's
growing economy.
"1 think there is a growing spirit of
partnership and cooperation with
the University and Eugene," Linton
said. "We're working more with lo
cal groups and businesses to in
crease recruitment and business
within the area."
The Milken report also cited eco
nomic diversity, high standards of liv
ing, and the presence of private, gov
ernment and university-based
research laboratories as significant fac
tors of healthy economic develop
ment. The report can be viewed at
http://www.milkeninstitute.org.
Contact the city/state politics reporter
at shoikeda@dailyemerald.com.
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