PSU engineering project gets $2M in federal funding

If all goes as planned, construction of Portland State University's Northwest Center for Engineering, Science and Technology will begin this summer.

The project, which includes construction of a five-story, 130,000- square-foot tower for $45 million, received an additional $2 million in federal support late last week.

The funding was secured following the approval of a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.

"This gets us closer to our fundraising goal," said Debbie Murdock, assistant to the president for government relations at PSU.

Portland State will receive $1 million in funding from the Department of Commerce and an additional $1 million from the Department of Education. The federal legislation also calls for the state of Oregon to match the $2 million in federal funding with state- backed general obligation bonds.

"We are especially thankful for this support given the tough economic challenges facing Oregon and the nation," said Portland State President Daniel O. Bernstine. "This funding puts Portland State that much closer to breaking ground for the Northwest Center for Engineering, Science and Technology, and that much closer to creating new jobs, generating research that encourages innovation and supporting the growth of Oregon's knowledge-based economy."

While the funding brings Portland State one step closer to moving ahead with construction of the tower, the university still needs additional funding before it gives the final go ahead.

"Right now we are about $6 million to $7 million short of the total funding needed for the project," said Gary Withers, vice president for university relations. "We are working hard to make this entire dream a reality."

The tower, to be located at 1900 S.W. Fourth Ave., will serve as Portland State's new home for the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

"The site has a potential to be a gateway to the university district and to the city itself," said John Thompson, senior designer with Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, the architecture firm designing the tower. "I think it is going to be a great addition to the Portland State campus."

The new building, which will include 47 research and instructional labs, will help Portland State meet a plan implemented by former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber requiring state universities to double the number of engineering graduates this decade.

Portland State has already increased its enrollment of engineering students from 1,200 to 2,000 since the plan took effect.

"The demand for engineering education is as high as it has ever been," Withers said.

Funding for the project has come from a combination of public financing and private donations.

Last month the project received a $2.5 million donation from Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore and his wife Betty. Portland philanthropist James Miller, who formerly was managing director of Blyth & Co. before it was absorbed into Paine Webber, also has donated $3 million to the project.

In November the project received $5 million from the Portland Development Commission in exchange for a parking lot between Southwest Fourth and Fifth avenues and a 42 percent interest in the Portland Center for Advanced Technology building.

So far the project has received about 85 percent of the funding it needs before construction can begin.

"It is our strongest hope that construction will begin this summer," Withers said. "But it won't start until we have the rest of the funding. We are continuing to move forward ambitiously with our private fundraising plans."

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