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The Center for Black Student Excellence would face constraints on its ability to place classrooms on the upper floors of the building that 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 at its upcoming Tuesday meeting, alongside a feasibility report WW has previously written about. Perhaps the most notable one: The height of the two buildings 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 buildings, according to real estate firm Owen Galbert LLC, comprise about 100,000 square feet, meaning the district could face restrictions on how it uses 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 at 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 would 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 use, 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 to fire safety improvements.
District spokeswoman Valerie Feder confirmed to WW on Wednesday morning 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.” The staff memo says another $5.5 million would be needed to replace the building’s HVAC system, which has a remaining expected lifespan of about 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 also reached out to Life Change Church, located on 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 School 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. It did so in part because the feasibility report previously confirmed that One North could accommodate all of the CBSE’s planned programming.
