Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Ceremony Signals Start of New Southeast Center Construction

Photos and story by James Hill

SOUTHEAST PORTLAND – It was down with the old and soon it will be up with the new at the future site of Portland Community College’s Southeast Center.The college hosted a "wall razing"ceremony on Wednesday, Aug. 14 at the site of the new center, located at the corner of Southeast 82nd Avenue and Division Street. More than 100 people from the community and college were in attendance. There was a brief ceremony that included remarks by PCC Board Chair Doreen Margolin, PCC President Jesus "Jess"Carreon, Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, Nels Hall, principal of Yost Grube Hall architects, and Cascade Campus Executive Dean Mildred Ollee. Contractors and architects were also on hand to watch a trackhoe with a bucket/thumb attachment demolish a portion of the building.Once the dust settles from the construction, the new Southeast Center is targeted to open in fall of 2003, allowing the college to bring more lower-division college courses to outer Southeast, as well as English as a second language classes, alternative high school offerings, pre-college and professional-technical classes. Students will be able to complete their first year of college transfer courses on site. Approximately 1,400 more students will be able to take classes at the new center. The center will be approximately 94,000 square feet. The plans call for remodeling an existing 60,300-square-foot building – the former Builder’s Square outlet – plus constructing a 10,300-square-foot addition and a new two-story, 23,300-square-foot building. There will be enough parking for 468 vehicles and the new center will contain three entry-exit points off of 82nd Avenue and Division.