The Burnside Blog
Millions To Fund Higher Ed at SOWA?
In my opinion, there are only a few mid-sized cities on the continent right now that rival Portland in terms of amenities and quality of life. Yet, there are still a few important puzzle pieces missing when one compares Portland to other mid-sized American cities like Pittsburgh, Austin, Minneapolis and our larger neighbor to the north, Seattle. Portland still lacks world-class cultural institutions and a leading university. That could be changing.
Tyler Graf at the Daily Journal of Commerce reports today that OHSU is working with the state university system to secure $250 million in capital construction costs for the proposed OUS/OHSU Life Sciences Collaborative at South Waterfront’s Schnitzer Campus, a prime 20-acre parcel of waterfront land sandwiched between the Marquam and Ross Island Bridge. The land was donated to OHSU by the Schnitzer family several years ago.
Graf reports that new facility would debut in the form of a 300,000 foot building that would house programs and research facilities of not only OHSU, but of Portland State University, Oregon State, University of Oregon and the Oregon Institute of Technology. Comparatively, South Waterfront’s OHSU Center for Health and Healing houses 412,000 square feet of office and medical space.
Integrating the efforts of the Oregon University system in Portland is not just a good idea, it could be vital to our local economy. The presence of not only OHSU but the other aforementioned institutions in Portland could certainly spark job growth in Portland. Plus, these efforts coincide with a growth spurt by Portland State University, which is planning a new business school and numerous student housing facilities in the next decade. I’ve been told by PSU officials that future collaboration with OHSU on the Schnitzer Campus is probable. What do you think? Does the district deserve more money?
