As the funding for a new four-year OSU-Cascades campus appears on track the location of an expanded campus moves up in the “to do” list.
A Portland-based consultant on May 15 presented recommendations that a range of 41 to 65 acres would be needed to meet campus development requirements, depending on whether the emphasis would be on an “urban” or “suburban” oriented campus, respectively.
An urban-oriented campus would be comprised of existing and newly built space within areas of current Bend retail and other development. A suburban-style campus would be largely self-contained in a specific larger campus mostly built from the ground up.
A representative of SRG Partnerships Inc., the Portland architectural consultant, estimated that in an early phase through 2015 the new campus would need approximately 200,000 square feet, including 22 classrooms. The current campus, which shares a site with Central Oregon Community College, currently has about 62,000 square feet.
Build-out for 5,000 students has been estimated to occur in 2025 with nearly 80 classrooms.
Compass Commercial of Bend is the real estate brokerage contracted to identify and negotiate for space to accommodate the expanded campus.
For some years Bend officials have included a potential college campus in the master plan for the 1,500 acre Juniper Ridge project on the northeast edge of the city. However, most discussion of a location of the new four-year OSU-Cascades campus has focused on sites closer to the city core.
The approximately $20 million in funding for the new campus is expected to include $16 million from the state legislature, $4 million in funds raised within the Bend-Central Oregon area and $4 million from the college budget.
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