PSU construction focuses on campus improvements

Several construction projects are underway on Portland State’s campus. New student housing at College Station, an underground heating and cooling system and the yet-to-be-built Life Sciences building are the three major projects dominating PSU construction.

The most apparent on-campus construction project is the new student housing structure located on the corner of Southwest Fifth Avenue and Southwest College Street. According to Jennifer Sharp, associate project manager for PSU Facilities and Planning, the new dorms are scheduled for completion by fall of 2012 and will house over 900 residents as well as academic classrooms and retail outlets.

Mark Gregory, associate vice president of Finance and Administration, said that another major construction project on the PSU campus is one not visible to the public. The Campus Wide Loop: Steam and Chilled Water Improvements project is an underground heating and cooling system that provides energy to several campus buildings including Shattuck Hall and Millar Library. The $17 million loop transports either chilled water (for cooling) or steam (for heating) through underground tunnels that connect most of the university’s buildings.

“[The loop] is an extremely efficient way to heat buildings,” Gregory said. By consolidating the amount of equipment needed, PSU will save considerable money on maintenance and energy costs.

PSU’s largest construction project, however, is located off campus on the south waterfront. According to Gregory, construction will begin on the Life Sciences building—a partnership between PSU, OHSU and OSU—on Oct. 13 of this year. The new building, costing an estimated $140 million, will eventually house the PSU chemistry and biology department. The proposed completion date is estimated at sometime in 2014. The PSU-owned portion of the structure will provide classrooms, faculty office space and research facilities for the university.

Gregory highlighted the fact that this extension of the PSU campus will be located on the newest portion of the TriMet streetcar line and on the MAX light rail line running from PSU to Milwaukie coming in 2015.

Gregory said that once completed, both the new Life Sciences building and College Station residence hall will be rated with LEED gold status.

Furthermore, the steam and chilled water loop and the improvements made to the fume hoods and ventilation system of the new Science Research and Teaching Center, will help make heating and cooling current and future campus buildings more energy efficient.

In addition to the major construction projects taking place, there are some smaller ventures going on as well.

The Science Research and Teaching Center, formerly Science Building 2, has mostly wrapped up its $42 million renovation. However, money donated from Portland General Electric has funded additional construction of new specialized research labs, Gregory said.

Within the next few months, PSU intends to build more wheelchair ramps to Lincoln Hall’s main entrance. During this time, a small sidewalk area in front of the building will be blocked off.

According to Gregory, even with the minor improvements coming to Lincoln Hall and the congestion surrounding College Station, the campus is less restricted by construction than it has been in recent history.

“The campus is mostly operational compared to how it has been [over the last several years],” Gregory said.

Sharp commented that construction on College Station has required partial closures of Southwest College Street, but Gregory stated that overall these closures are minimally invasive to students and should become less and less of a problem as construction moves to the interior of the building.
Taylor Harn, a PSU freshman living in Broadway, said that the construction taking place on College Station is quite loud.

“[The construction noise] usually wakes me up in the morning,” Harn said. He added that the lack of open sidewalk space around the area was a nuisance when trying to get to class.