This content was published: August 7, 1997. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
PCC Cascade Campus Prepares for New Buildings
Photos and Story by Mark Evertz
The Cascade Campus of Portland Community College is planning for new programs and expanded services and capacity in the future, according to Mildred Ollee, executive dean. "Cascade campus is serving the community well now, but we plan to do a lot more in the future. In fact, we believe we can serve twice as many students in the not too distant future if we plan carefully," Ollee said.
"The changes at Cascade these past two years have been dramatic. The campus looks more like a college now, and we are able to give much better services to our students," Ollee added. "Our new library building is more than double the size of the library we had before and the new student services building provides a central place for students to go for support services," she said.
In the immediate future PCC plans to move professional music, the community band and other programs into new modular buildings on the campus. This summer or early fall the college will proceed with plans to remove Cascade Hall and prepare the site for an eventual new building. The campus is located at 705 N. Killingsworth.
Ollee said she and other college officials looked at many alternatives to removing Cascade Hall. "We wanted to try to restore the building, but the costs were prohibitive," Ollee said. PCC estimated a cost of $4 million just to bring the building up to code, which would have to be done before any remodeling could begin. "We just don’t think that’s a wise use of public funds. For the same expenditure, PCC could build a new and far more functional building," she added.
PCC has discovered many problems with Cascade Hall, built in 1946 for the former Cascade College. It has asbestos and lead paint throughout; does not meet earthquake codes; has substandard ventilation; needs new wiring, heating, cooling systems; is not handicapped accessible; and has dryrot, to name a few. It was built with cheap materials and has little historical or architectural significance. "Still, it will be missed by the college and the community," Ollee acknowledged, "and we will just have to work on designing a replacement building that’s even more community-friendly and provides more resources."
Last fall, a new building housing students services such as admissions, financial aid, job placement services, counseling, registration, learning and tutoring services and classrooms opened on the northeast corner of the campus. The new library and classroom building, facing Killingsworth on Cascade’s southwest corner, opened in 1995. These buildings added 66,000 square feet of classroom, office and meeting space and improved student access to key services. The campus still faces a shortage of classroom and office space. Future plans for the campus include another classroom building for science, math and job training programs, as well as additional facilities for use by the community.
The college will involve the community in planning for the new facilities and is preparing for a possible bond election in 1998 to fund these projects.