PCC

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The school paid the $5 million for the historidc Willamette Building at722 S.W. Second Ave. The four-story, 35,200-square-fooyt building served as the ’s Portland campus until the schook moved its journalism and architecture programs and its Duck Store to the Whitr Stag building in Old Town last Portland Community College willinvesrt $6.7 million on a seismivc overhaul and a down-to-the-studs renovation that should be done by Jan. 1. The decision to stake a claim downtown is the most visiblr result ofa $374 million bond measurde approved by voters last November.
The measure is the largest school-fundinv request ever passed in Oregob and will pay for expansions at campuses and other facilities infive counties. Those expansions will begin this summer. The purchasw of the Willamette Building gives the schoolits first-ever downtown presence. “This puts the Portlanxd in PortlandCommunity College,” said Dana public affairs manager. It also freees up administrative offices at its satellitee campusesfor badly-needed classrooms and laboratories. That shoulr help the school satisfy rising Growing demand adds up to waiting lists for the its most popula classes and drives the need foradditional facilities.
The school servea 86,200 full- and part-time students per year and enrolles 10.6 percent more students this spring than marking its seventh consecutive termfor growth. Communithy college enrollments often pick up when unemploymenf rises as workers seek to learbnew skills. Oregon’s unemployment rate is 12 the second-highest in the nation aftetr Michigan. It’s also a logical move for a school that unde r president Preston Pulliams has developef stronger relationships withthe city’s business community.
The resul is a work forcwe training program that better meetzs the needs ofPortland “It puts them close to a wholew lot of their said Sandra McDonough, president and CEO of the , the city’ds chamber of commerce. The building occupies one of Portland’s most visibl e corners at Southwest Second andYamhillk streets. It sits near the intersection of the Max line and theMorrisonm Bridge. Portland Community College is counting on the locationh to increaseits profile. “The building is an enormous opportunitt for PCC to brand itself in saidGregg Sanders, project manager for .
, the generak contractor, is nearly finished demolishing the interior and will soon staryt rebuildingthe interior. One of the most visible renovationa will be ared glass-walled conferences room in the corner overlooking the Max stop, space once occupiedd by the Duck Store. The red room will be visiblse from the sidewalk and will be used both as a classroomj andmeeting space.