PPS staff recommend moving forward after due diligence finds 1 North is a conceptual fit for Center for Black Student Excellence

Portland Public Schools staff on Nov. 18 presented a due diligence update on the district’s leading candidate site for the Center for Black Student Excellence (CBSE), saying the 1 North property is a conceptual fit and that staff will recommend next steps toward purchase.

Superintendent Chase Miller and the district’s real estate and programming leads presented findings from structural, title, survey and environmental reviews and walked the board through a program vision staff say came from extensive community input. "The feasibility study did exactly what we had intended for it to do, which was tell us that it is a conceptual fit," said Nicole Watson, senior director of family and community engagement.

Dana, the district’s senior director of real estate and construction, gave the construction assessment. She told the board the buildings "are currently used as commercial office space" and would require changes in occupancy designation and life-safety upgrades for educational use. Dana gave a rough all-in estimate to acquire and retrofit the buildings of about $37 million to $41 million and said staff expect work could take roughly 24 to 30 months from board approval.

Board members pressed staff on a range of implementation issues. Directors asked whether existing commercial tenants would help cover operating costs, how parking and egress would be handled, whether the large atrium could be preserved without blocking classroom use, and how children who live far from Albina would access programming.

Dana said commercial tenants typically pay a pro rata share of operating costs and property taxes for their leased space and that some leases expire in 2028, which could create near-term opportunities to phase commercial space into district use. On the atrium and code issues, Sarah Bowman, interim senior director of Office of School Modernizations, said there are multiple code-based ways to treat the atrium (for example, fire exhaust systems or water curtains) and that the design team will work with city officials to determine firm options.

Directors asked about transportation and equity. Watson noted staff analysis that "nearly 40% of PPS — approximately 3,600 Black students — go to school within 3 and a half miles" of 1 North and said staff will develop transportation solutions (shuttles, walking school buses and partnerships) as programming and design are finalized.

Staff told the board due diligence documents show no title, ALTA survey or Level 1 environmental issues that would block a purchase, and that legal counsel believes available bond funds can be used for the acquisition. The superintendent and real-estate staff said they intend to return with an agenda item for the board to vote on whether to remove contingencies and move toward purchase; staff said due-diligence completion was achieved in this meeting.

The board received the report and engaged in extensive questions; staff said the purchase decision will come before the board in early December. The consent agenda vote at this meeting approved routine items; the proposed purchase and any contingent motions had not been voted on at the Nov. 18 session.

What’s next: Staff expect to present any recommended action to remove contingencies and proceed with purchase in early December and will supply additional detail on code, parking, tenant timing, operating costs and transportation prior to that vote.