Lincoln High School Redevelopment - Portland State University

Lincoln High School RedevelopmentDevelopment StrategyThe Lincoln High School site presents a rare opportunity to transform a superblocknear the heart of downtown Portland from a sprawling and deficientbuilding of suburban density into a mixed-use community with the prototypeof the 21st Century urban magnet high school. It would contain 1,682 mixedincomeworkforce housing units and specialized spaces which can be developedand operated by pubic-private partnerships to provide rich educational, athleticand community services to the school, the onsite population and other communitypartners downtown. Sufficient on-site parking would support the uses onsite in addition to absorbing the excess demand for parking in the area generatedby the adjacent uses, such as PGE Park and the MAC Club.The essential development strategy to achieve this vision is to maximize the urbanlocation advantages of the site, the public-private partnerships it allows withnearby downtown partners, the possible density supported by the location andsuperblock site and the public financing options that can flow from public ownershipof the site and parking.This superblock property has unrealized development potential. It currently hasa sprawling suburban-style 190,000-square foot, two-story school building witha track and field on an 10.96-acre site in downtown. The assessor currently valuesthe property at $62,754,600. The land alone is valued at $37,076,590, theequivalent of $3.4 million per acre, or approximately $78 per square foot for its477,418 square feet . Under more normal economic conditions, the commercialvalue should substantially exceed that figure because it is a superblock madeup of eight city blocks with no through-streets and only one functioning sewereasement.After considering the layout of the site, the zoning requirements, and the goalsput forth by the Long Term Development Committee (LTDC), we decided ona development strategy that builds a 21st Century urban magnet high schoolin downtown Portland, paid for to the extent feasible with revenue and valuegenerated from the site, as a way for the Portland Public School system to createeconomic and educational value and turn an underutilized asset into a revenuestream. In order for PPS to maintain more control of the site, acquire morefavorable financing and better control the uses that could be developed on thesite, we believe that PPS should act as the master developer of the site with theassistance of fee developers for individual projects.We assumed that LHS would become a magnet school, since its downtown locationand many unique features including the IB program draw students throughoutthe district. A statewide residential magnet school could also be consideredfor this site, something which is not currently offered in Oregon, but has beensuccessful in other states, such as North Carolina .Lincoln High School is situated in an ideal location to develop innovative partnerships.The LTDC would like to see “synergistic [partnerships], such as colleges,museums or teacher family housing”. Other nearby organizations suchas KGW TV studio, Artists Repertory Theatre, and PSU, could help LHS furtherengage students in the neighborhood and foster community outreach byproviding unique internship opportunities for the students. Another goal inmodernizing the schools is to better connect the schools with their surroundingneighborhood. Taking this into consideration, it is important for the school tobe open to the neighborhood and command more of a presence in this area.The school is facing major renovation needs, estimated to cost at least $23 millionfor systems expected to fail in the next 10 years and up to 50%-100% of replacementcosts for full modernization and expansion. Replacement costs wereestimated by the LTDC at $110 million dollars. LHS can barely accommodatethe number of students currently attending, let alone those that would like totransfer in order to attend its prestigious programs, such as the InternationalBaccalaureate (IB) program.Portlandmaps.com values the land at $37,076,590 for the 10.96 acre LH S propertyhttp://lincoln.pps.k12.or.us/files/6-12-08%20LTDC%20Report.pdfNorth Carolina School of Science and Math - http://www.ncssm.edu/14Center for Real Estate • BOMA Development Workshop • Summer 2009