This
time around in ther Oregon legislature brought a more positive outcome for OSU-Cascades
plans to take another step in its long-range expansion plan.
In
the closing hours of the 2018 session the legislature approved additional bonding
of $39 million for the young 4-year campus along Bend’s Century Drive, a
welcome increase over the $9.5 million
in the previous session that fell far short of what officials needed to stay on
a long-range plan to build out the university.
The
2018 funding came with a broader base of support inlcuding from Gov. Kate
Brown, House speaker Tina Kotek, both Democrats, and local Republican Sen.Tim
Knopp.
Last
session there was reported funding resistance from Democrats on the west side
of the Cascades, with some observers saying it reflected a bias against mostly
Republican-leaning Central Oregon.
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| Existing campus (lower right) and expansion area |
In
a statement the university said the funding will allow it to move ahead with
construction of a second academic building that will house “STEAM disciplines
of science, technology engineering, arts and mathematics.”
The
new 4-year campus welcomed its inaugural freshman class of about 1,200 students
in September of 2016 after completion of the first academic building. A new
dorm and dining facility was completed in 2017.
By
2025 officials have said enrollment could peak at a maximim of 5,000 students.
Additional expansion will require
considerable site work on a 46-acre former pumice mine and 72- acre former county
landfill. The university acquired the mine for nearly $8 million from a private
seller and the landfill for $1 from Deschutes County, the latter price
determined by a contingency that site preparation would cost more than $45
million, nearly twice an appraisal.
With
the existing campus and expansion land the universty would eventually be built
out on a total of 128 acres according to its master plan.
Oregon
State President Ed Ray expressed gratitude for support by the Governor and
legislators, as well as,”the many generous donors whose gifts of over $9 million
helped match this state funding.”
OSU-Cascades
Vice President Becky Johnson, the top Bend-based administrator, said construction of the new facility is
planned to begin in the spring of 2019, “following remediation of portions of
the pumice mine and landfill that adjoin our campus,” and be opened by fall of
2021.
The
university plans to eliminate an estimated nearly 30,000 truck hauling trips that
would be required to remove material from the former landfill by using it as
fill in the pumice mine. This would result in about 36 acres of land for construction
and another 36 acres for open space such as park and sports fields.
Until
opening the new campus OSU-Cascades functioned under a partnership with Central
Oregon Community College in which the university leased space on the COCC
campus. It offered junior and senior undergraduate instruction as well as
master’s desgrees, with many students migrating to OSU-Cascades after
completing courses at the two-year community college.
