I believe the Village needs to focus on preserving and enhancing our downtown. Adding more businesses and more people into our downtown will increase the downtown’s vibrancy and ensure it remains the central core of Oregon. A key step in accomplishing this will be redeveloping the block containing the senior center.

The village is hoping to incorporate a number of functions in the new senior center building. Things under consideration include a recreation center used by both the senior center and the community, space for a daycare, storefronts, a new Post Office, apartments on upper floors, a parking structure, etc.

What actually gets developed there will be decided after the senior center completes a space-needs analysis, and the village holds community input sessions to hear what residents want. This sort of redevelopment of the senior center is well beyond available village resources. We'll probably have to look at some sort of public/private partnership to get it done.

From my perspective, I'd love to see a public parking structure included, as that will allow us to redevelop some of the surface parking in the downtown to support multi-story mixed use development: storefronts on the first floor with apartments above. This redevelopment would bring more businesses into the downtown area.

Having people living downtown will provide a customer base for those businesses and increase the vibrancy of the downtown area. In fact, all new development in the downtown should be this type of mixed-use development. Not having storefronts in the Jefferson Crossing apartment building was a missed opportunity to bring more businesses into our downtown. Unfortunately, Oregon appears to be making the same mistake with the proposed apartment building on the corner of Janesville Street and Spring Street. Only a small portion of the first floor of this building planned as a single storefront.

Long term, both the gas station and the bank should be considered for redevelopment. Our small, geographically limited downtown would benefit from redeveloping these parcels. (Imagine a restaurant patio overlooking Badfish Creek.)

As for other downtown development, I would like to see our beautiful art deco village hall rehabilitated and used to house businesses. The discussion on what to do with this building has not yet begun.

The Village of Oregon has a golden opportunity in front of us. If we act wisely and build to enhance its historic character, our downtown will have more businesses, more vibrancy, and even more charm.