The University is pursuing two possible locations to move its over-crowded Portland satellite campus from its location near Pioneer Courthouse Square, a move that could increase the number of students.
Possible sites include the Old Town district near the Willamette River and a federal building located at 511 N.W. Broadway, Senior Vice President and Provost John Moseley said.
The Portland Center houses a career center and programs in architecture, law, journalism and continuing education. Moseley said there are about 200 to 250 students attending the satellite campus, but if the University moves the satellite to a new building, the enrollment is expected to double.
“We badly need to get some additional space,” he said.
Moving to a larger location would consolidate all the programs, making it easier to provide more services, Moseley said.
Venerable Properties of Portland is looking to purchase three of the four historic buildings on the White Stag block in the Old Town district, from which it would then lease a 60,000 square-foot space to the University. The White Stag block is located on Burnside Street and Naito Parkway, and is the site of the landmark “Made In Oregon” lighted sign that overlooks the Willamette river.
The 125,000 square-foot Broadway building is currently occupied by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The University plans to submit a proposal for the building by Feb. 10, Moseley said, but nothing has been finalized.
“I wouldn’t actually define a first choice, but we are much farther along with the White Stag project,” Moseley said.
The University currently owns a 40,000 square-foot Portland campus that is located in the Yamhill District. Moseley said the University is unsure if the building will be sold or leased if the program is moved.
Not everyone is onboard with the University’s plans.
Gerry Gast, an associate professor of architecture who works at the Portland campus, said he is “very critical” of the University’s selection process.
“It has been conceived behind the closed doors of the Provost’s office without participation from faculty, especially those who know Portland well,” Gast wrote in an e-mail.
Venerable Properties has been working with the University to find land in Portland for this project for about two years, said Art Demuro, president and principal broker for Venerable Properties.
On the White Stag block, Venerable Properties would complete renovations to transform the three vacant buildings into one complex, as well as improving the buildings’ structural integrity and their electrical and plumbing systems.
“The buildings are pretty deteriorated,” Demuro said.
The White Stag project is estimated to cost Venerable Properties $30 million, Demuro said. Venerable Properties will serve as the buyer of the property, developer, leasing agent to the University and property manager. If the deal is finalized, Demuro said he expects the site to be open to students between September 2007 and January 2008.
Moseley said he could not discuss how much the University would pay in rent for the property because the specifics of the deal are still being negotiated.
The Portland Development Commission furthered the White Stag plan by voting to recommend that the Portland Family of Funds, a private investment bank that manages federal tax credits for the community, approve the reservation of tax credits that would add about $4 million to the project.
David Davis, project coordinator for the Portland Development Commission, said moving the University’s Portland campus to the White Stag block would help revitalize the Old Town district. It will bring students and professors to the area, improving businesses, he said.
“In an area that’s a focus of our investment, it will revitalize that area,” Davis said. “It’s hard to imagine a better project for the neighborhood.”
Demuro said the University was looking for a historic property west of the Willamette, and also a location that was seeking urban renewal.
“The University needed about 60,000 feet of contiguous space, which is not easy to find,” Demuro said. “It really was a nice fit.”
While expanding the Portland campus offers many promising opportunities, Gast said he doesn’t think the White Stag block is a good location for the Portland campus.
In a letter he sent to architecture faculty, Gast said the Old Town site is dangerous for students, and is also farther from where most Portland students live.
“…The drug traffic, and other threatening street activities pose special problems because our students enter and exit the building late at night, often alone,” he said. “If the Portland Center were to be moved to the (White Stag block), we would be trading our existing excellent downtown site for a poor to mediocre one.”
Davis said that if the University doesn’t select White Stag, the purchase of that block wouldn’t be feasible because it’s difficult to find a tenant as large as the University.
Venerable Properties is awaiting the approval for the reservation of the allocation of funds from the Portland Family of Funds, which will meet on Feb. 17. Venerable Properties has also applied for a $2.5 million seismic loan and for $125,000 in grants from the Portland Development Commission, according to the Portland Development Commission’s Jan. 25 report to the board of commissioners.
Moseley said without the tax credits from the Portland Family of Funds, the White Stag project will cost too much.
“We can’t pay market rates. We have to find a location that is a special deal,” he said. “We have to get a good deal or we’re not going to get it.”
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