Skip to main content
The Center for Black Student Excellence faces constraints on its ability to place classrooms on the upper floors of the building Portland Public Schools is considering for purchase, new documents show.
The One North development in Albina is made up of two buildings, one with four floors and one with five. That student use may be limited on those floors was among the additional details PPS released as it conducts due diligence on the the One North development, the North Portland complex the district is considering to house the CBSE.
The findings present a couple of extra considerations for the School Board to discuss in its upcoming Tuesday meeting, alongside a feasibility report WW has previously written about. Perhaps the most notable one: The height of the two buildings that make up the One North development in Albina, the property under consideration to house the CBSE, means “the City may limit our classroom use on the upper floors, potentially limiting types of uses for as much as 15,000 square feet,” a staff memo reads.
The One North property, according to real estate firm Owen Galbert LLC, is about 100,000 square feet, meaning that’s up to about 15% of the space.
The School Board is using the district’s due diligence to determine whether the One North development is a suitable home for programming for the center, which is meant to improve Black student outcomes through partnerships with community nonprofits and culturally sensitive curriculum, among other plans.
Early programming plans indicate the district’s vision for the CBSE extends well beyond students, with plans for community-facing programs like a family wellness center, event center space, and community elaboration center. Draft plans thus far indicate some of those upper levels are preliminarily delegated to administrative functions and the family wellness center.
PPS will have to make many upgrades on top of the $16 million purchase price for the CBSE. That’s because the current development is zoned as a class “B” occupancy, allowing use for commercial office space. For PPS to run it, that occupancy would need to be a class “E,” for educational usage, triggering stricter seismic, wind and snow load requirements.
Class “E”, the staff memo reveals, also necessitates “additional life safety measures.” Those include upgrades to everything from stairs to hallways and fire improvements.
District spokeswoman Valerie Feder on Wednesday morning confirmed to WW that PPS has obtained rough estimates of $21 million to $25 million in costs on top of the building’s purchase price “for building improvements for the program and occupancy compliance,” which would accommodate most of the necessary detailed upgrades. The staff memo details that there’s another $5.5 million to spend on replacing the building’s HVAC system, which has a lifespan of about another five years.
Altogether, capital costs for the building would total between $37 million and $41 million. Voters approved $60 million in 2020 school bond funds for the CBSE, which means the elevated price would still place the project below its allocated budget.
The district has additionally reached out to Life Change Church, located in an adjacent lot, to continue a majority interest lease for the church’s parking lot. (With the sale, the district would have that lease until it expired in 2027.) Transportation has been a concern for a number of board members, and the feasibility report previously confirmed limited on-site parking at One North itself.
Staff recommended that the board proceed with the sale, though that decision won’t be made until a Dec. 2 meeting. They’ve done so in part noting that the feasibility report previously confirmed the One North space would be able to accommodate all of the CBSE’s planned programming.
