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The Portland Development Commission‘s board last week adopted a resolution authorizing Executive Director Patrick Quinton to enter a disposition and development agreement with Portland State University to redevelop several properties within the University District area and University Place.

鈥淭he DDA with PSU allows some property, currently owned by PDC, to be transferred or sold to PSU for redevelopment,鈥� PDC spokesman Shawn Uhlman said. 鈥淧DC has committed funding to several projects with PSU.鈥�

There are six projects on which PSU and PDC are collaborating. As part of the adopted resolution, PDC agreed that no portion of the public money PDC awards will be used 鈥渆xclusively for education purposes, but rather will be incorporated into a project in conjunction with PSU funds in a way which preserves the use of those assets contributed by PDC for non-education purposes.鈥�

The first project will be construction of a Graduate School of Education on a half-block at Southwest Park Avenue and Mill Street 鈥� currently, the site is home of the Extended Studies Building. The school is planning to request for the project state money from the Higher Education Coordinating Commission. If funding is approved, construction would begin in 2017 and wrap up in mid-2018. Portland’s Office of Management and Finance has executed a letter of intent with PSU to occupy at least 30,000 square feet of space in the new building. The PDC has agreed to provide nonfinancial assistance by structuring the disposition and transfer of site ownership to PSU.

The second project, at PSU’s School of Business Administration, will include large-scale renovations to an existing 97,000-square-foot building and construction of an additional 38,000 square feet. The PDC committed to contribute $2 million in tax increment financing (TIF) to assist in the renovation. This project could be delivered by fall 2017.

The completion dates for the final four projects are further out, with the Jasmine project (late 2020) scheduled as the first. That multi-use development will feature commercial and educational space. The PDC will provide nonfinancial support in the form of assistance in disposition and transference of the site to PSU to add taxable value for generation of TIF revenue.

Plans aren’t set yet for about a quarter-block 鈥� currently owned by TriMet 鈥� at the corner of Southwest Lincoln Street and Fourth Avenue. The project, which is scheduled for completion in mid-2026, would provide 鈥渁n opportunity to create a synergy between PSU-owned properties adjacent to TriMet-owned properties.鈥� The PDC plans call for PSU and TriMet to jointly lead a process to identify possible interim uses for the property before construction begins in 2023. As part of the agreement, the PDC will try to secure development and ownership rights of the parcel from TriMet in order to make TIF funding available to PSU in the amount of the fair market value of the property. If the PDC is unable to reach an agreement with TriMet, PSU will be obligated to construct taxable, TIF-generating commercial space on the site in order to pay for the purchase.

The PDC has committed at least $1.8 million to help pay for the University Place Project on a 3.86-acre parcel at 310 S.W. Lincoln St. PSU hopes to attract a development partner that is interested in creating a dense, mixed-use development on the site.

In the agreement, PSU agrees to meet with the PDC as soon as a concept plan for the site is developed to discuss whether the school would like to include non-student affordable housing that would receive funds from the Portland Housing Bureau. Construction is scheduled to start in early 2019 and deliver in mid-2021.

The final development of the agreement is the Fourth Avenue Project; construction isn’t scheduled to begin for nearly a decade, according to PDC documents. The building at 1900 S.W. Fourth Ave. houses part of PSU’s Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science. The project involves renovating and possibly expanding the building to accommodate new research and commercial activities. The development is scheduled for completion in mid-2026.