A Eugene woman hopes to convert a small, vacant dilapidated hall on North Washington Street near Kiwanis Park in the Whiteaker neighborhood into a new �neighborhood center� that will offer yoga and other educational and health classes.

Jerilyn Spring applied for a conditional use permit from the city last month. She needs that permit to open a commercial venture on a property that is zoned for medium-density residential use.

Spring bought the building, a former Jehovah�s Witnesses Kingdom Hall, in late 2014 for $205,000, according to Lane County property records. The property has been empty and abandoned for many years, according to Spring�s application, and �became a public nuisance due to drug use and other illegal activites by those trepassing on the property.�

Spring, who did not return a call for comment from The Register-Guard, plans to convert the one-story building into a studio for yoga, gym and dance classes, according to the application.

The center also will offer �cultural, social, exercise, and educational activities and classes to small group responsive to local neighborhood needs.�

Spring doesn�t plan to expand the building or its 28-spot parking lot. Instead, Spring wants to renovate the building, possible adding skylights, and to resurface the parking lot.

All classes on the property would occur indoors, the application states. Any outdoor classes would be conducted on nearby park property. Yoga classes are expected to have a maximum capacity of 30 in the 1,857-square-foot facility.

The application argues that the conditional land use should be permitted because the proposed facility will have �minimal impact on surrounding properties.� It also will �help reduce crime and drug use prevalent in the area and enhance the vitality of the park system.�

The Whiteaker neighborhood has �historically developed with a mixture of land uses,� the application states.

Small-scale churches, like the former Jehovah�s Witnesses hall, often provide �social, cultural, and educational services to the surrounding residential neighborhood. In many ways, they function like a neighborhood-oriented commercial use.�

Follow Saul on Twitter @SaulAHubbard . Email saul.hubbard@registerguard.com .