The 511 NW Broadway Building brings to PNCA and the State of Oregon a distinctive resource

Friends of PNCA:

In the past year I have had the pleasure of sharing with you some very important milestones in the development of this 99-year old College. Last May, the extraordinary $15 million gift from Hallie Ford to establish the Ford Institute for Visual Education (FIVE). The record BFA enrollments of the last two years; the highly successful kick off of our MFA program in Visual Studies; the continued development of the Global Studios program; and most recently the launching of the PNCA + FIVE Idea Studios here in Portland with James Turrell and Jacque Rancière and last week an Idea Studio in New York in celebration of our MFA Chair, MK Guth—the toast of New York and Portland.

So how do we follow such acts? And more to the point how do we accommodate the rapid growth our College is undergoing? One way is to develop a vision for our campus that is as vibrant and active as the school itself. A campus that engenders innovation and supports those who are busy making culture is more than the sum of its buildings. It is a place of ideas, a place where creativity lives.

Today I am pleased to announce on behalf of the PNCA Board of Governors that the US Department of Education and the General Services Administration have approved our application to make the historic Federal Building at 511 NW Broadway a permanent part of the PNCA campus. The transfer of this valuable property is made under the provisions of public benefit conveyance law for educational institutions. PNCA has qualified 100%, which means the government has agreed to transfer the building at no cost to the College. This is simply monumental and I know you share my excitement for what this means for the College, the City, State and our students.

We are incredibly grateful to the officials in the US Department of Education and the General Services Administration who worked hard to make this happen. Without the ongoing support of many civic and business leaders, and our Congressional Delegation— especially Senator Gordon Smith and Congressman David Wu—this outcome would not have resulted.

To this list I must add thanks to an extraordinary group of volunteers and PNCA staff who supported the development of our application and all that it entailed. Board member Casey Mills, Facilities Committee members Larry Dully, Damin Tarlow, from Gerding Edlen Development, Neilson Abeel, Al Solheim PNCA Board Chair, Phyllis Oster who managed the application project and above all, Laura Hill the Chair of the PNCA Board facilities committee and recently retired principal at SRG Partners. Laura’s knowledge, skill and sheer professionalism enabled the PNCA application to successfully respond to the complicated requirements of the federal process.

The 511 NW Broadway building not only has a creative future it has a creative past. The renowned San Francisco-based architect Lewis P. Hobart designed it for use as a federal post office in 1913. Hobart was selected for the project as the result of a national competition sponsored by the US Secretary of the Treasury. Construction was completed in 1916 and the building was placed on the National register of Historic Places in 1979. It is considered a fine example of the era’s Italian Renaissance style and is neighbor to two other National register properties in Old Town: The Union Pacific Railway Depot (1892) and the U.S. Customs House (1897).

The building’s 130,000 square feet of interiors are spacious and very well suited to the purpose of art education. There are a series of big well skylights and also a large saw-toothed skylight system on the main floors and large functional windows on all sides of the upper four stories. On the first floor there is a beautiful formal lobby with adjoining space for an auditorium and instructional galleries. The west side of the building faces what is now a parking lot and in the future will become an extension of the North Park Blocks.

The building is currently occupied by the Department of Homeland Security, which also headquarters the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. The GSA has informed us that the federal tenants will probably occupy the building for another two years. That is actually helpful for us because it will allow sufficient time for discussion inside the College and with our neighboring communities that can lead to the development of a detailed renovation and funding plan that meets all the criteria and conditions of educational use that the Department of Education has outlined.

Once the building is transferred to the College we will have up to three years to complete our renovations, although it is the sense of the planning team that we will be able to complete at least a first phase—and we have the ability to phase the work we do on the building—in a 12-month time frame. We estimate those renovations will range in cost from $12 – 16 million —and here I cannot over emphasize that numbers are likely to change as this project move forward. However, we are confident with the help of our Board, development team and our many friends that we will put together a strong package of tax credits and fundraising to get the job done.

Together with the current spaces we occupy in the Pearl District, the majority of which we will continue to need, 511 gives shape to a PNCA + FIVE campus that is suggested by its physical architecture but defined far more broadly by the power of creativity that its programs and people generate. Such a campus will be articulated over time by the work—faculty, students and staff and by the organizations and individuals with whom we collaborate. Innovation and imagination, which are very much at the soul of a College such as ours, will allow those that come after us to renew and evolve this vision.

The 511 NW Broadway Building brings to PNCA and the State of Oregon a distinctive resource to serve in the education of many new generations of artists and designers, whose work will contribute to our civic imagination and further stimulate the growth of Portland and the regions creative economy. PNCA + FIVE are important catalysts for the development of local economy and the making of culture. The College’s ability to attract students, faculty and develop new programs is greatly enhanced by the acquisition of this iconic Portland space.

Tom Manley, President