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The Portland Business Journal: Sustainability Center vote set for Wednesday
Author: By Wendey Culverwell
Posted: August 2, 2010

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2010/08/02/daily7.html

The future of the highly touted Oregon Sustainability Center hinges on a vote before the Portland City Council Wednesday.
The council is expected to make two key decisions: whether the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability will move into the new space, occupying more than 20 percent of the building, and whether the city will provide $450,000 toward the $900,000 budget for design work.
The Oregon University System would pay the other half.
Mayor Sam Adams is an enthusiastic supporter of the project - to be located at Southwest Fourth and Montgomery at Portland State University - but other commissioners have expressed concern about its $75.3 million pricetag.
The plan being voted on Wednesday caps development costs at $420 per square foot, which is roughly twice the $185 to $210 per square foot it cost to develop Class A office buildings in Portland in 2008.
The project is conceived as a public-private venture meant to highlight Portland's reputation as a leader in green development, and to serve as an incubator for green business and an anchor for a new downtown "eco-district."
The council will take the matter up at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday Aug. 4 in the council chambers of city hall at 1221 S.W. Fourth Ave.
The state of Oregon has approved the use of up to $80 million of general obligation bonds to develop the building. The city would own about one third of the building and the university system would own the balance, a portion of which would be used by Portland State University.
Other partners include Gerding Edlen Development Co., the Portland Sustainability Institute, the Portland Development Commission, Portland Community College and the Oregon Living Building Initiative.

Read more: Sustainability Center vote set for Wednesday - Portland Business Journal