More students, more housing

As the student population continues to grow, Portland State and community partners plan to increase PSU’s on-campus living spaces to increase its accommodation of 7 percent of the university population to 25 percent.

The additional accommodation would come from the renovation of structures on campus and the construction of more buildings. The time frame for achieving this goal is estimated at ten years, though the PSU Foundation is hoping to add an additional 900 beds within the next year.

PSU Housing Director Corey Ray said that implementation of the 10-year plan to for more housing has begun. University Place, located on Fourth Avenue and Lincoln Street, will potentially be renovated into an apartment building.

 A new building to house senior and junior level students would be called College Station. The projected site is on Sixth Avenue between College and Jackson streets. Outside of this building would be a MAX Yellow and Green Line stop. Construction on the project and renovation of other buildings is expected to begin this summer.

“A couple of decades of research have gone into projecting the rise in the PSU population and we are working on plans to keep things up.”

Lindsay Desrochers, vice president for Finance and Administration, said, “the population is expected to at least double over the next 15 years.”

Ray said that living expenses are only going up due to inflation, but by creating more housing and having more students live on campus, students and PSU can help counteract that inflation.

Creating an on-campus community for freshmen is another priority of PSU Housing.

Ray said that PSU is not a traditional campus, and that students, especially freshmen, would benefit from having on-campus residences. A community atmosphere helps students focus on academics, while creating a community experience, he said.

“Living on campus directly relates many students to being more successful,” Desrochers said. 

Ray said that for plans to go into action it will take leadership, and that PSU President Wim Wiewel is backing the efforts.

Renovation funding will come from PSU housing revenue, and funding for actually constructing new buildings will be put up by PSU and private partnerships.

American Campus Communities is one such partner that is helping to create the new housing.

“We are one of the nation’s largest developers, owners and managers of high-quality student housing communities,” according to its Web site.