<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4CGbDs_1BlshMxJ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4CGbDs_1BlshMxJ00" width="1233" height="869" ><figcaption>The seven-story Gordon hotel and apartment building is under construction on the Willamette riverfront in Corvallis. (Photo was taken on May 14.)</figcaption></figure>On a bike ride in Corvallis this month, I came across a big construction project of the Eugene-based Obie Companies, and I wondered if the developer has a similar, though probably smaller, project in mind for Albany as well.At the corner of First and Madison streets in Corvallis, across the street from that city’s Riverfront Park, Obie is building what has been billed as the Gordon Hotel and Gordon Residences.The project will have seven floors accommodating 75 guest rooms in the hotel portion and 92 apartments in the rest.The company’s website says the project “will offer locals and visitors the right mix of engaging social spaces, food and beverage offerings and an environment for connection.”Several broadcast outlets and the Corvallis-Albany newspaper all had stories about this project when Obie announced it in October 2024. They said the apartments would rent for market rates. But none of he stories I saw said anything about parking in downtown Corvallis.The Corvallis Gordon, named to echo a similar development in Eugene, is being advertised as opening in 2027.In Albany, Obie Companies has an option to buy, for $1,710,000, three city-owned parking lots on the south side of Water Avenue. The properties are the former Penney’s lot, the lot between the closed Eagles lodge and the Ellsworth Street Bridge, and the lot between the Ellsworth and Lyon Street bridges.Before any sale takes place, Obie and the city would have to negotiate, and the city council would have to approve, a development agreement. The agreement would spell out what the company plans to build, in what time frame, and how the developer would make up for the loss of parking spaces downtown.The council has already approved a property tax exemption program for multiple-family housing projects, and Obie’s interest in the Albany lots was predicated on such a program being in effect.I asked Sophie Adams, the city’s economic development manager, about any potential Obie project on Water Avenue.“I understand that Obie has engaged architectural firms and is working on designs for a phased construction project,” she replied on Tuesday. “Their option agreement expires [in] May 2027.”So, whether something like the Corvallis Gordon Hotel is in store for Albany, we may have a better idea by this time next year. (hh).</div></body>

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On a bike ride in Corvallis this month, I came across a big construction project of the Eugene-based Obie Companies, and I wondered if the developer has a similar, though probably smaller, project in mind for Albany as well. At the corner of First and Madison streets in Corvallis, across...

What’s in store for Albany riverfront lots?

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On a bike ride in Corvallis this month, I came across a big construction project of the Eugene-based Obie Companies, and I wondered if the developer has a 

What’s in store for Albany riverfront lots?

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