Lane County Votes to Buy Downtown Building to Free Courthouse Space

Lane County commissioners voted unanimously on March 3, 2026, to enter a purchase agreement for the former Wells Fargo building at 99 E. Broadway in downtown Eugene from Eugene School District 4J, a move county leaders say will free room in the Lane County Courthouse and the Public Service Building for court, sheriff and district attorney expansion. County officials plan to relocate most county services into the downtown building to make space for court operations that local leaders say are hampered by failing infrastructure.

Register‑Guard and Lookout reported the commission authorized staff to pay $2.95 million for the property; Register‑Guard noted that figure is $50,000 more than Eugene 4J paid when the district purchased the building in February 2024 for $2.9 million. Some headlines and aggregated accounts used a rounded $3 million, and Lookout reported 4J initially listed the property in June 2024 for $3.2 million.

District Attorney Christopher Parosa told commissioners the purchase could be a cost-effective path to better space. Parosa said, “I see this as potentially a more cost-effective way of ultimately getting us what we need, which is more and better space for both the sheriff’s office, the district attorney’s office, but also the courts who I know are desperately in need of additional space.” Sheriff Carl Wilkerson described current facilities as inadequate and said, “Currently, our spaces are wholly inadequate. They're unsanitary, they're unsafe, they're inefficient, they're unprofessional, they're unwelcoming. Both spaces were never really designed to be what they are now.” Presiding Judge Karrie McIntyre wrote that “heating, cooling, and plumbing systems fail,” and argued that “a modern, functional courthouse is not a luxury; it is a necessity for public safety, economic stability, and community health.”

The building at 99 E. Broadway totals 51,114 square feet, rises four stories with underground parking, was built in 1965, is ADA accessible, had its HVAC replaced in 2011, and is zoned for major commercial use, according to Register‑Guard real estate listing details. KLCC noted Wells Fargo moved a few blocks away, and Lookout reported the district hoped to meet sale conditions by mid-September and close by October 2025, quoting a district official named McIver: “The district remains hopeful these conditions will be satisfied by mid-September, enabling a closure of the sale by October 2025.”

County staff estimate renovations to convert the former bank into county office space at $17.5 million, while Eugene 4J decided against roughly $12 million in renovations when it backtracked on plans to use the property as district headquarters. Commissioner Heather Buch tied the purchase to feedback after a failed 2019 bond to build a new courthouse, saying, “The feedback that I remember hearing was, well, why can’t you find another space that you can renovate for cheaper? And that is this idea.”

Procedurally, the March 3 vote delegated finalization of the sale to the county administrator and authorized staff action; Register‑Guard reported county staff planned to finalize the sale within 30 days. Lookout documented that the school board’s May 21 resolution authorized superintendent and staff to complete the sale and cited district general counsel Christine Nesbit saying no further board approval was required. Lane County public information officer Devon Ashbridge told Lookout the purchase was being considered “as part of a larger evaluation of long-term space needs in the face of a failing courthouse building that no longer adequately meets the demands of a community this size.”

With the purchase authorized, county officials say the next steps are finalizing the sale and developing a renovation and relocation schedule for services now housed at the Public Service Building at 125 E. Eighth Ave., while specific timelines and funding for the estimated $17.5 million in renovations remain to be determined.