The three largest public colleges in Portland, Ore., are teaming up with the city to build a $100 million education and health center on the downtown campus of Portland State University.
Portland State, Oregon Health & Science University and Portland Community College say the project will turn a parking lot into a new home for the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health, Portland State's Graduate School of Education, Portland Community College’s dental programs and a city bureau.
The building, which is expected to open in September 2020, will mark the first time the three campuses and the city will share one space. At 200,000 square feet and up to nine stories tall, it will be one the largest academic buildings on Portland State's main campus.
The OHSU-PSU School of Public Health was created in July 2016. Since then, the school — which has been temporarily housed in multiple locations, has enrolled more than 1,200 undergraduates and 250 graduate students.
The school, and forthcoming building, represent an expansion of existing Portland State and OHSU collaborations, including the Collaborative Life Sciences Building and the Viking Pavilion, an athletic and events venue on Portland State’s campus that will open in 2018.
Portland State's Graduate School of Education has been in a temporary space since a School of Business Administration renovation and expansion project began two years ago.
The community college's Dental Program will move from the Sylvania Campus to the second floor of the building by 2020.
Providing Portland Community College closer access to Portland State and Oregon Health Science will encourage even more collaboration among the three institutions and strengthen opportunities for students to smoothly transferto pursue advanced degrees.
