In the coming weeks as heavy equipment and closed road signs leave Philomath with the completion of the streetscape project, the downtown vicinity will officially move from conceptualization to reality.
Smooth sections of road on both sides of the couplet with bright sidewalks to stroll on and new streetlights, traffic signals, bike racks and benches — a few examples of the amenities.
It’s only the beginning.
City Manager Chris Workman sees the project’s completion as the starting point of a journey toward a more inviting downtown that in the future will not only entice motorists to park their cars and explore but serve the important purpose of catering to the locals.
To reach that sweet spot that moves Philomath in a new downtown direction, work definitely remains. A vacant lot owned by the city could ultimately serve as a gateway of some sort and there are certain businesses along the stretch from 15th down to 12th that currently impede the overall vision.
Efforts to improve Philomath’s downtown started long before the Oregon Department of Transportation’s arrival in November 2022 to begin the streetscape and safety improvements. Water and sewer line work was done to modernize the section’s infrastructure before these most-recent upgrades that came with a price tag of $18 million.
“Really, that’s just the beginning,” Workman said a couple of weeks ago while sitting at his desk at City Hall. “I think this next phase of truly establishing a new downtown area that’s going to be a draw for people that want to come to — that’s going to be a draw for businesses.”
Philomath’s downtown currently leans more toward the types of businesses that you typically find along a state highway in a small town.
“That’s the result of 100-plus years of having a highway going through town without a real concerted effort to try to make the downtown a place that’s friendly for pedestrians and bicycles and shops,” he said. “So it’s definitely a shift and it’s going to take some time.”
Workman took over as Philomath’s city manager on March 17, 2014 — that’s a little more than 10 years and five months on the job. Prior to his arrival to succeed a retiring Randy Kugler, he had spent time learning the ins and outs of city administrative work at Veneta, a small town just west of Eugene along Highway 126.
Through the years, he’s become well-versed on the situation that Philomath finds itself in — a tight-knit, proud community that has a major highway cutting through its downtown.
“Over the last 15 years, I’ve read a lot and looked a lot and thought a lot about the downtown area,” Workman said. “There’s definitely a lot of momentum that will continue forward from the streetscape project.”
Workman believes the improvements being done now will lead to a more pedestrian-friendly downtown.
“I do think that the streetscape project, the infrastructure we’re putting in will result in a change of the types of businesses that we see that are attracted to downtown Philomath,” Workman said. “I don’t want to see anything happen to our existing businesses but I think that some of them will find that a very pedestrian-centric location isn’t the best spot for them.”
Workman believes some locations with leased space will transition more toward retail shops or restaurants — “something more conducive to where you have more foot traffic coming in and out of your store or shop or whatever and more than a couple of days a week.”
So, will Philomath see that type of change in the heart of its downtown? Will the new look eventually entice businesses geared more toward foot traffic?
“For a downtown to really thrive, you’ve got to have something to do after 5 o’clock and something to do on Saturday or Sunday,” Workman said. “I do think that will happen and over the next five, 10 years, we’ll see a shift to more pedestrian-centric types of businesses in the downtown area. But it’s going to take time.”
For those who have made the Highway 20 trip toward the Bend region, the stretch through Sisters along the way might’ve enticed you to pull off the road if you’re interested in high-end shopping, custom jewelers and art galleries. That’s not the feel Workman sees for Philomath.
“I’m really much more interested in businesses that cater to our existing residents,” Workman said. “I’m not interested in having a shop that sells Gucci in Philomath … that’s just not our target. That’s what’s doing well in Sisters because there’s a lot of people from all over the state and the country that go there for a big vacation and spend a lot of money. That’s just not what I envision for our downtown.”
Earlier this year, the city established a Housing and Economic Development Committee with the mayor, a couple of city councilors and 11 community members. The downtown’s future is among the discussion topics to be tackled.
A component of the committee’s work will involve development code changes that could completely alter the downtown’s feel — residential use on the second or third floors above businesses, for example.
“People that want that type of lifestyle want to be able to walk out of their front door and walk a block or two and hit the bakery or hit the restaurant or even walk to work,” Workman said. “We want that for the downtown but we also recognize that we’re not Portland, we’re not Salem or even Eugene for that matter. Our population base is much different than that — we’re a small town.”
The city owns property on the corner of Main and South 14th and although ideas for how to use that quarter block have come up over the past few years, no decisions have been made. It will be another future topic for the new committee.
Workman has ideas for the lot, such as a mixed-use location with retail on the first floor and residential up top. Maybe even some sort of gateway visual.
“I envision a clock tower or bell tower or something on there to really be kind of a monument on that corner, that kind of entry into the downtown area,” he said.
Workman believes some sort of public-private partnership could lead to something beneficial.
“It’s not something the city’s going to take on and it’s not something that we just want to give the land away either to just anybody,” he said. “We want to make sure that it’s going to be aligned with what the city is looking for there, which again, would be some type of a statement building that’s going to bring some more retail, more commercial activity and possibly also provide some housing.”
