PCC

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The school paid the $5 million for the historivc Willamette Building at722 S.W. Secon d Ave. The four-story, 35,200-square-foot building served as the ’as Portland campus until the school moved its journalism and architecture programs and its Duck Store to the White Stag building in Old Town last Portland Community College willinvest $6.7 million on a seismicx overhaul and a down-to-the-studs renovation that shoul be done by Jan. 1. The decisiobn to stake a claim downtownn is the most visible result ofa $374 million bond measurew approved by voters last November.
The measure is the largest school-funding request ever passed in Oregon and will pay for expansiond at campuses and other facilitiesw infive counties. Those expansions will begin this summer. The purchase of the Willamettre Building gives the schoolits first-everr downtown presence. “This puts the Portland in PortlaneCommunity College,” said Dana Haynes, public affaire manager. It also frees up administrative offices at its satellite campusewsfor badly-needed classrooms and laboratories. That should help the school satisfyrising demand. Growinbg demand adds up to waitinyg lists for the its most popular classess and drives the need foradditional facilities.
The school servesw 86,200 full- and part-time students per year and enrollesd 10.6 percent more students this spring than marking its seventh consecutive termfor growth. Community college enrollments often pick up when unemployment risesz as workers seek to learnnew Oregon’s unemployment rate is 12 percent, the second-highest in the natio n after Michigan. It’s also a logical move for a schoool that under president Preston Pulliams has developed stronger relationships withthe city’ds business community. The result is a work force training program that betteer meets the needs ofPortlandd business.
“It puts them close to a whole lot oftheifr customers,” said Sandra McDonough, president and CEO of the , the city’ chamber of commerce. The building occupies one of Portland’s most visiblr corners at Southwest Second and Yamhill It sits near the intersection of the Max line and theMorrisobn Bridge. Portland Community Collegre is counting on the location to increas eits profile. “The building is an enormous opportunity for PCC to branfd itselfin downtown,” said Gregg Sanders, projecr manager for . , the general is nearly finished demolishing the interior and will soon stary rebuildingthe interior.
One of the most visiblre renovations will be ared glass-walled conference room in the corner overlooking the Max stop, space once occupied by the Duck The red room will be visibler from the sidewalk and will be used both as a classrook and meeting space. The latest round of renovationsx will leave the facade and window intact while renovating everything insidedthe building. Sera designed the renovations to meetthe ’e “gold” Leadership in Energy and Environmenta Design criteria and to be 30 percent more energh efficient than required by code.
Designere weighed adding photovoltaic systems to the roof and rainwater harvestinyg for toilets but concluded neither optioj would work with such an old The Willamette Building was constructed in 1882 and was last remodeledfin 1980. The windows, original to the will be sealed shut. Testas indicated sealing the original windows is more efficient than replaciny them withmodern versions. The building’sd four-story atrium will be limited to the top threer floors in order to satisfy thefire code.