A massive $790 million capital bond measure approved by voters in 2017 is paying for a lot of improvements at facilities operated by Portland Public Schools. One construction project that began this past summer is the modernization and expansion of Madison High School, at 2735 N.E. 82nd Ave.

The 62-year-old school is being mostly demolished, save for a pair of two-story classroom wings. The remainder will be renovated into modern educational space (including Career Technical Education space), while a new 1,700-seat gymnasium, new commons and new performing arts center will be built by general contractor/construction manager Fortis Construction.

Opsis Architecture and DAO Architecture collaborated on the design.

In total, the renovated school will hold 292,000 square feet of usable space and be able to accommodate as many as 1,700 students. Over 170,000 square feet will be new construction.

Recently, crews from NorthStar, Finish Line Concrete Cutting and other subcontractors utilized an array of machinery to take down the reinforced concrete structures that comprised former gymnasium, auditorium and administrative spaces.

Project completion is scheduled for summer 2021, in time for the facility to be used for the 2021-22 school year.

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A scammer posing as a construction contractor managed to persuade Portland Public Schools officials to cough up $2.9 million.

The funds were quickly frozen by the school district’s bank, Wells Fargo, and returned, PPS stated in a news release Tuesday.

Two employees involved in processing the transaction were placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. However, initial information suggests the fraud was perpetrated externally and no district employees were engaged in criminal activity, according to the district.

The transaction was flagged by Wells Fargo on Friday, and the funds were returned to PPS on Tuesday.

The scammer’s account impersonated Fortis Construction, PPS spokeswoman Karen Werstein stated in an email message. Fortis is the construction manager/general contractor for the Madison High School project.

PPS said it would use the incident as an opportunity to improve its financial controls. An external auditor will independently review the district’s financial procedures.

The district also pledged to continue to cooperate with law enforcement, including the Portland Police Bureau and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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General contractor Fortis Construction is seeking bids from subcontractors for multiple scopes of work at Madison High School in Portland.

Madison is one of three high schools being modernized or rebuilt with money from Portland Public Schools‘ $790 million bond approved by voters in May 2017. The others are Lincoln (construction expected to begin in 2020) and Benson (construction expected to start in 2021).

Approximately 60 percent of the existing Madison school will be demolished and built anew. Plans call for adding 170,000 square feet of new space – including a theater, a gymnasium and a commons area – to bring the total to 292,000 square feet over three stories. The school will be able to accommodate up to 1,700 students. Opsis Architecture designed the new space to blend with the original building, which opened in 1957.

Currently, Fortis is offering bid package No. 2, which includes: surveying; site services; precast concrete; masonry – structural CMU and brick veneer; waterproofing and damp-proofing; expansion joint covers; roofing – new construction and renovated areas; roof accessories; skylights; interior bleachers; elevators and lifts.

A pre-bid job walk is set for 4 p.m. on Feb. 27 and will start at the front entrance of Madison High School, at 2735 N.E. 82nd Ave. Bids are due by 3 p.m. on March 12.

A hearings officer on Feb. 25 will consider Portland Public Schools’ request for Type III conditional use approval – as recommended by BDS staff. Approval would allow the project to move forward. Construction is expected to start by July and finish by 2021.

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