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Plans are still on hold for the Portland International School to take up residence in the historic U.S. Custom House in Northwest Portland.

Ross Buffington, regional public affairs manager for the General Services Administration, which currently owns the building, says that the GSA is preparing to transfer ownership of the U.S. Customs House building to the Oregon State Department of Education for use by the International School. That transfer is scheduled for early March.

But according to International School administrator Ellen Savaria, the school’s board still needs to decide whether or not it will pull up roots at its current location at 025 S.W. Sherman St.

In a message to TIS parents Feb. 16, the school board has requested that parents fill out forms pledging to invest a certain amount toward $300,000 for maintenance, security, insurance and hiring fees for experts to perform pre-construction work, fundraising and secure tax credits for the project. The deadline for pledge forms is Feb. 23.

And getting the board to approve the relocation plan may be only the beginning of a challenging redevelopment project, according to architect Paul Falsetto of Carleton Hart Architecture.

“The U.S. Custom House has been kept up quite well,” Falsetto said. “But it will be an expensive building to upgrade. To put a school in an un-reinforced masonry structure is something that comes with a huge price tag.”