Public/Private Efforts Result in Groundbreaking for Learning Center

Learning Center for Advanced Learning Brought Together a Consortium of School Districts and BusinessPORTLAND, OR-Ground has been broken and an initial design rendered for the new Center for Advanced Learning, a cooperative endeavor involving a consortium of three local school districts, Mt. Hood Community College, and the Multnomah Community Television.

Escrow on the 1.79-acre site on Civic Drive between Burnside Road and Division Street is due to close by month’s end with a $700,000 price tag. The proposed 58,000 sf, three-story, steel-and-concrete structure is estimated to cost $8.5 million to build plus $3 million in soft costs such as architects and building permits. Completion of construction is scheduled for January 2003 with the first full slate of classes starting in Fall 2003.

“It’s been wonderful because everyone has been committed to the idea,” says Michelle Moore, chief financial officer for the Gresham-Barlow School District within which the new center will be located. “Purchasing the property and coming to an agreement on a site made it more difficult to find a central location everyone felt comfortable with.”