COBURG, Ore. (KMTR) -- New excitement in the city of Coburg, as a Eugene developer has stepped forward with new plans to buyout the old Monaco Coach site and redevelop the property into something new.
Eugene developer Steve Lee says he is in the final stages of buying the 69-acre site of the former Monaco Coach manufacturing operation, near Interstate 5 in Coburg. There’s no definite time table on the when the deal will be done, but Lee says it will happen soon.
As it stands, Lee is planning to redevelop the site into a business park for multiple tenants, called “Coburg North.”
The complex is currently zoned for light industrial. With redevelopment, small retailers, manufacturers, distributors and more could move in to the space left by Monaco.
Coburg’s acting mayor Jae Pudewell says he’s happy to hear of the new plans..
“The town has really swung back and forth with the fortunes of Monaco, says Pudewell.
“We're very excited about getting that developed,” says Pudewell.
With welcoming in multiple smaller businesses in the future, Pudewell says Coburg’s infrastructure is ready.
“"We've investing approximately 25 million dollars into a new wastewater treatment plant, ODOT is investing over 15-16 million dollars in to interchange development on the westside which will really make the accessibility much better, so I think there are really positive steps that are moving forward,” says Pudewell.
Steve Lee helped develop the Monaco complex in the mid 90’s. He says jumped on the chance to redevelop the property when he heard it came up for sale.
Acting Mayor Pudewell says he’s glad to see the plans for an area for multiple businesses as well to help with business diversification.
“The plans as I know them are very positive and it's a diversified business park that fits well with how we'd like to see that area evolve,” says Pudewell.
“I think that's always a good idea, because then you're not... you have multiple businesses in one area, because then you're not so dependant upon the cyclical nature of any one business,” says Pudewell.
Monaco has pretty much cleared out the property in the last three years since Navistar bought the RV company. Only about 150 employees remain with the company in Oregon. Half of those employees work in the RV Service center, which will remain on site following the sale of the property.
Once the sale is complete, Lee says renovation and remodels of the Monaco property and the 9 buildings on site.
Another redevelopment in Coburg will begin in the next one year at the site of the former Shell station. As it stands, the plan is to rebuild the gas station along with a new franchise restaurant.
