A $9 million increase for the construction of the new student recreation center was approved Friday by the Oregon State Board of Higher Education, bringing the total cost of the project up to $81 million.
The new student recreation center will replace the Portland Center for Advanced Technology (PCAT) building, and will be built in two phases. Phase I of the PCAT redevelopment project will include construction of six floors for recreation facilities, classroom space and retail space. Two more floors will eventually be added as part of Phase II, according to Lindsay Desrochers, vice president for Finance and Administration.
Revisions to the 2007-2009 biennium budget split the project into the $51 million Phase I and the $30 million Phase II. The cost of the project has been increasing since it was first announced in 2004, from $30 million to $81 million.
The new student recreation center will be completed in fall 2009 to coincide with the opening of the new MAX Green Line, according to Portland State and the Oregon State Board of Higher Education.
The board also authorized a $3 million loan for two years to speed up development of the recreation center project, which will help ensure costs for the construction remain low, according to Desrochers.
The $9 million acquired from the state Emergency Board and the Oregon University System (OUS) chancellor’s loan will insure success of the recreation center project, said Jay Kenton vice chancellor for finance and administration at the OUS.
”There’s two reasons for doing this now," Kenton said, “to ensure that it is successful, and to ensure that the project has a reasonable cost level."
Ten thousand square feet of office space was also reserved for use by the State Board of Higher Education’s chancellor’s office, paid for by $3 million of chancellor’s office funds.
Desrochers said Portland State is “gung-ho" in getting the recreation center project started, which has been in talks since 2004.
The recreation center has been a point of contention among students since the decision to build the multi-million dollar facility was approved by a small number of student votes. The plan was passed by a vote of 912 to 900, and the 1,812 students who voted represented 7 percent of the total student body.
Students also objected to a proposed $56 student fee increase, originally intended to go into effect when construction was expected to begin in 2005. Portland State decided that the service fee would not go into effect until the completion of the recreation center.
The approval of the budget increase for the recreation center was passed with no dissension by the board or by board president Henry Lorenzen.
”There is an immediate need," Lorenzen said. “If we don’t do it now costs will be only higher in the future."
PSU President Daniel Bernstine said he and the university are happy to be able to finally embark on the project.
”We are confident we can make this happen," Bernstine said. “It’s something that really makes sense to us."