The developer of a planned federal Department of Veterans Affairs behavioral health clinic in Eugene is inching ahead on the project, recently clearing a couple of key hurdles. But it’s uncertain when he’ll begin construction at the Chad Drive site.

In late September, Linn County-based developer Jeff Parker bought the 2.3-acre parcel for the clinic from the local Chambers family for $2.66 million, according to the deed. The hefty price highlights how the value of land along Chad has soared in recent years as developers have gobbled up what was once prime farmland, leaving less and less on the market.

The purchase came a couple of days after Parker secured city approval for a partition that created the 2.3-acre parcel. The site was carved out of a 10-acre parcel of farmland owned by the C

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