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The bond-funded projects at Portland Community College‘s Sylvania campus will eventually include new storage buildings, a new child development center, and 160,000 square feet of renovations spread among most existing buildings. Money for the work is coming from a 2008 bond that provided $374 million for construction at seven of the college’s campuses.

However, at Sylvania, where $52 million will be spent, project manager Gary Sutton said less than 10 percent of work is completed. The team is aiming, tentatively, to finish work in 2015. But first a feasible schedule must be developed for work at a crowded campus full of diverse interests.

The bond’s public involvement program manager, Gina Whitehill-Baziuk, is pushing hard to encourage all affected parties 鈥� people who teach, work or learn at the campus 鈥� to participate in planning.

鈥淭here is a strong commitment to shareholder engagement this time,鈥� said Whitehill-Baziuk, who added that 鈥渢horough鈥� conversations would take place.

For the construction team, that means a lot of waiting.

鈥淔rankly I didn’t foresee so much involvement with outside stakeholders,鈥� Sutton said.

He said that stakeholder involvement has been the largest challenge in getting work off the ground. Construction can’t move ahead until stakeholders determine where offices should be located and what they should include.

Even then, the team can’t plan for construction without a schedule, which presents its own challenges when most of the work is renovations. So the project team is looking for 鈥渟wing space鈥� 鈥� some extra, unused space where classes or offices can be relocated during construction. The college doesn’t want to reduce the number of classes during the renovation process, said Linda Gerber, president of PCC’s Sylvania campus.

The campus doesn’t have a lot of space, however, and it’s becoming even more crowded. Since the bond was passed in 2008, the student body at Sylvania has increased by 27 percent 鈥� an unanticipated jump, Gerber said. The student body already is the size that officials had expected it to reach when bond work wrapped up.

鈥淲e thought we were fully subscribed (in 2008). Now there are students in every cranny (of the campus),鈥� Gerber said. 鈥淲e know that we’re going to need to create swing space. We’re working to determine where.鈥�

One option would be to complete the 10,000-square-foot child development center early on, so it could be used as temporary space while renovations take place elsewhere. However, an extensive visioning and involvement process could hold up construction, Sutton said.

Other options for swing space include temporary portable classrooms, or a planned new storage facility serving as classroom space temporarily.

For now, the team is trying to be 鈥渙pportunistic鈥� with the projects that can move forward, Sutton said. That means moving in to renovate a space when there is a break in classes or a lull in activity. This past summer, for example, when fewer students were on campus, contractor Howard S. Wright renovated a floor of the campus’ social sciences building.

Other completed projects include replacement of an inefficient boiler and a dehumidification effort at the campus’ pool. A road connection on 鈥淕 Street鈥� completed a ring around campus, and some renovations are moving at a 鈥渟low鈥� pace, GBD Architects principal Kyle Andersen said.

鈥淚t takes some inertia to get going,鈥� he said. 鈥淥nce it starts, it will be steady.鈥�