Contingent on the GSA's selection of the site – the agency alsois considering a downtown site in the adjacent city of Springfield,and will make its selection by January - Chiquita has agreed tosell its vegetable cannery to the city for $4.1 million. The citywould then sell about half the site to GSA, master plan the restand then seek a public-private partnership to develop a mixed-useproject on the property.

If the GSA picks the Chiquita site, the courthouse propertywould anchor a city-led effort to gain access to its historicallyworking waterfront and transform it into offices, restaurants,shops, condominiums and walkways to the Willamette River and alongits bank. The city would likely sell about 4 acres on the westernportion of the triangular lot to the GSA for the courthouse. Therest of the site, which includes several cannery buildings, wouldbe cleared, master-planned, and then solicited to prospectivedevelopers interested in following the city's plan.

Eugene's purchase price is about $1 million higher than thevalue of the land alone, but Lew Bowers, the city's communitydevelopment manager, tells GlobeSt. it was the cost of doingbusiness. "We bought timing," says Bowers. We couldn't have waiteduntil Chiquita decided to close down, so we're paying for Chiquitato move on our timetable and one that works for the feds."