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De La Salle North Catholic High School is set to move to property alongside St. Charles Church in Northeast Portland.

Backers plan to build the first new Catholic high school campus in Portland in more than 50 years at St. Charles, at 5310 N.E. 42nd Ave. Crews are scheduled to break ground on the project, expected to cost at least $21.6 million, on May 8 to allow the facility to open in August 2021.

Bora Architects is designing the project, and P&C Construction is serving as general contractor.

The project was spurred by the impending end of De La Salle’s lease at its current location, the former Kenton Elementary School property owned by Portland Public Schools. The Catholic school’s lease with PPS expires in June 2021.

The project team is essentially working backward from the delivery date the school needs. Bora and P&C have extensive experience designing and building education facilities, respectively.

Plans call for renovating the existing 30,000-square-foot school building at St. Charles and constructing 21,000 square feet of new space, including a common area, administrative offices, gymnasium and associated weight and locker rooms.

鈥淭he building has good bones,鈥� school President Oscar Leong said. 鈥淚t’s just a matter of coming in and working with the professionals.鈥�

Phasing depends on fundraising, De La Salle and Bora officials said. The gym could be built in a second phase if not enough dollars are immediately available.

De La Salle has launched a major fundraising campaign that has raised 85 percent of its goal through major backers including Tim Boyle, president and CEO of Columbia Sportswear, and his wife, Mary; and Edward Maletis, owner of Portland Bottling Co., and his wife, Cyndy.

De La Salle has had something of a vagabond existence. The ex-Kenton facility is its second location. The basketball teams have practiced in several locations, including a Salvation Army gym.

鈥淲e need a place to call home,鈥� Leong said.

Plans include creating high-tech science labs in the former St. Charles gym and a visual arts center. The existing parish building is not part of the project.

鈥淚t’s been an incredibly meaningful project for Bora to work on,鈥� said Amy Donohue, a principal at the Portland-based firm.

Materials on the new building will be red brick and white metal paneling to maintain a cohesive appearance with the existing St. Charles building, Donohue said.

Bora has something of a secret weapon for the project in Nikolas Tucker, a De La Salle alum who is a junior architect at the firm. Tucker, 23, earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Columbia University in 2018. He worked for a couple of New York City firms before returning in 2019 to Bora, where he had interned for two years.

鈥淚t’s very rewarding to come full circle like this,鈥� Tucker said. 鈥淚t wasn’t something I was planning on, but I’m very happy for the serendipity.鈥�

A central courtyard will serve as a meeting and social space for students.

鈥淭he dream is the gym, but the focal point and the heart of the school will be a courtyard,鈥� Leong said. 鈥淚n our current home, we have no soft spaces for students to hang out and be themselves.鈥�

The project team has applied for permits from the city’s Bureau of Development Services, which has moved to remote work and a by-appointment-only model for permitting during the coronavirus pandemic.

鈥淲e will see if there’s any slowdown with permitting,鈥� Donohue said. 鈥淲e’re in the queue, but we’re all holding our breath right now.鈥�

De La Salle currently has approximately 280 students. Capacity would increase to 350 at the new campus.

Leong said he hopes De La Salle North Catholic High School can become a community resource.

鈥淲e don’t want to be the best-kept secret,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want to be able to celebrate with all of Portland.鈥�