By Ben Lonergan
The Register-Guard
Project: A new restaurant, live and work space and apartments
Location: 448 Main St., Springfield
A local developer and architecture firm are in the process of transforming the Rivett Building in downtown Springfield.
Springfield-based Masaka Properties LLC is working with local architects Campfire Collaborative to renovate the 114-year-old property at the corner of Main Street and Fifth Street in downtown Springfield.
The Rivett Building is being renovated to add two additional stories as well as a restaurant and apartments. Photo by Ben Lonegran/The Register-Guard
The pair have been responsible for a series of buildings in downtown Springfield’s revitalization including the Lovely Building and Main Street Market among several others both individually and together.
Jenna Fribley, architect and co-founder at Campfire Collaborative, said they are working to maintain as much of the history and character of the Rivett Building as possible.
“We've done a ton of historical research on it and tried to uncover what it originally looked like and how it progressed through the years,” Fribley said.
The exterior of the first floor will remain the same, though a series of long-covered doors and windows will be returned to use to enhance the historic features of the building.
A restaurant will be constructed in the portion of the first floor facing Main Street, while the Fifth Street side will feature a lobby for the building, commercial space and a live and work space at the street level.
Above the existing building, plans call for 12 two-story loft apartments, each with a 10-foot deep balcony overlooking Fifth Street.
A rendering of the plans for the renovated Rivett Building in downtown Springfield. Photo by Campfire Collaborative
Bob Miller, a partner in Masaka Properties with David Loveall, who represents Springfield as a Lane County commissioner, said the group was looking for an opportunity to bring more housing to downtown Springfield and the building was a great fit.
In the process of gutting the building, Fribley said construction crews have uncovered a variety of artifacts from the building’s various uses including parts of early 1900s shipping crates, glass bottles, signage and other curiosities.
A selection of the artifacts are on display at the Springfield History Museum. Fribley said she hopes to return some of them to the building as decorations once it is complete.
The building was purchased by Masaka Properties in 2021 for $395,000, according to county records.
Project size: 8,688 square feet
General contractor: Ryan Thomas Construction LLC
Architect: Campfire Collaborative
Source: Campfire Collaborative, Masaka Properties and Lane County property records