After nearly a year of behind-the-scenes planning, changes to the new northeast Portland campus will start to be more visible this month.

This article first appeared in Around the O on April 24, 2023. 

After nearly a year of behind-the-scenes planning, changes to the new northeast Portland campus will start to be more visible this month.

Work will begin in the Library and Learning Center, with new paint, carpet and minor repairs. Vines will be removed from the exterior walls and buildings will be cleaned. New signs will be installed and banners in and around campus will be replaced.

The University of Oregon bought the campus in June 2022 and will consolidate all Portland programs there by the academic year 2024-25.

“There are so many details tracked, meetings logged and people involved in the process to make this campus our new Portland home,” said Jane Gordon, vice president for Portland. “This next window of time is when we will start to put all that planning into action so we can welcome our first groups of students this summer.”

Third-year law students will be the first to arrive in August. The other academic and research programs expected to move by September are Strategic Communication, Oregon Reality Lab and Agora Center from the School of Journalism and Communication; the College of Education’s master’s in school psychology; and the Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health. Some departments, like the library, student life, advancement, information services and the Office of the Vice President of Portland, will support both campuses. 

The other programs at UO Portland will stay in Old Town while their buildings on the new campus undergo more extensive renovations. That work is expected to start in a few months and continue through fall 2024.

University leaders approved building names that will be used to develop wayfinding signs, create UO maps and meet safety needs while preserving future naming opportunities related to fundraising.

New Name (Previous Name)

• Innovation Building (Luther Hall)
• Library & Learning Center (no change)
• UO Portland Center (Hagen Campus Center)
• Highland Hall (Fine Arts Building)
• Oregon House (Concordia House)
• 27th Avenue Apartments (Concordia Place Apartments)
• Clinical Research Buildings (Weber, Mary Neils, Elizabeth halls)
• UO Portland Recreation Complex (Hilken Stadium)

Explore the campus map for all building names. 

A key feature of the campus is student housing. The 27th Street Apartments will have two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments available to rent starting in August. Applications will open shortly. Miles Marrow, who has been with the UO since 2016, recently started as the director of university housing for the northeast Portland campus. 

Activation teams continue to advance specific areas such as IT, dining, student services and safety. Fiber optic cable installation will begin in May. The library has donated or recycled more than 100,000 items and continues to plan for a larger footprint at the new campus that will include current and expanded academic materials and a small collection of children’s and general reading books.

The third Community Connection event in early April brought more than 100 neighbors and alumni to the new campus. A national search for a director of campus security is underway, and two new community service officer positions are in the hiring process.

A company is working to clear unneeded items from the campus. The second auction will run through May 3, with several more to be scheduled in the coming months.

—By Heidi Hiaasen, Office of the Vice President for Portland
—Top photo: Employees with Center Pointe Signs test out the new monument sign for the northeast Portland campus. The sign will be permanently installed this month near the stadium at the corner of NE 27th and NE Dekum streets.