Originally, Opus had thought to build either high-end student housing or market-rate apartments on the parcel. The site, says Owendoff, is ideal for student housing because it’s within three blocks of campus and sits directly on the Portland Streetcar line.

“On a national basis, school-owned housing facilities can accommodate approximately 30% of today’s total enrolled student population,” says Owendoff. “Most students not commuting from their parents’ homes must rely on private apartments or houses as living quarters. A significant amount of on-campus or near campus student housing at PSU is outdated or inconsistent with current student living standards, boosting demand for new student housing with modern amenities.”

The building, dubbed Jefferson West Student Housing Tower, would also benefit from PSU’s incredible growth; currently the largest university in Oregon with 30,000 students, the school is expected to grow by another 20,000 students within the next two decades. It would also be among the first projects to go up in the PSU Urban Renewal Area, a newly created $169-million portion of South Portland encompassing 144 acres around the university that should effectively triple the region’s tax base from $608 million to $1.7 billion in 32 years.

Indeed, just a fraction of PSU student live on campus, according to reports, and the local apartment market is one of the tightest in the nation. Marcus & Millichap predicts Portland multifamily vacancy will fall another 40 points to 2.7% by year-end. At the same time, construction is expected to remain 90% below the 10-year average.

Jefferson West’s latest incarnation will not be a carbon copy of the original. The new development team is looking to build 368 units, with 448 beds, in the 18-story tower. Additionally, it would offer new-to-market amenities such as a top-floor floor entertainment deck, as well as storage for 500 bikes, cyber caf