Oregon & OSU are engaged in a $350 million building boom.
By Oregon Tax News,
University of Oregon
In a bid to draw and develop top talent, the University of Oregon has unveiled its new $68M, 145,000-square-foot Football Performance Center, thanks to philanthropist Phil Knight, co-founder and chairman of Nike and his wife, Penny.
The design team of ZGF Architects, Firm 151 and Hoffman Construction brought the vision of a state-of-the-art facility into being. The polished black exterior is an impressive introduction to what coaches and players find inside. Italian marble lines the showers; seats in the two auditoriums are covered in Ferrari leather. Meeting rooms feature black-glass walls used like blackboards and other walls covered in Nike football leather. Biometric access pads allow entrance to the athletes’ locker room, with lockers fully ventilated to prevent odors and coded keypads. There are three new practice fields, a two-story weight room, a barber shop and cafeteria which offers farm-fresh produce under a neon sign that reads “Eat Your Enemies – and Other Food Groups.”
Despite the loss of coach Chip Kelly to the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, the Football Performance Center promises to inspire the Ducks to future successes following their 2013 Fiesta Bowl victory.
Oregon State
OSU is also a buzz of construction activity, adding new buildings and updates to its campus. Current projects, which total $125M, include the Student Experience Center for student government and other student projects ($42M funded by student fees); Austin Hall to house the College of Business ($50M); a new residence hall housing 324 students on the east side of campus ($28M funded by state bonds to be repaid by student fees); three new buildings for the university’s cultural centers.
Upcoming projects include: Lonnie B. Harris Black Cultural Center ($2.4M); 130,000-square-foot classroom building that will house 2,300 students ($65M funded by state bonds); 60,000-square-foot engineering building ($40M); remodeling of Strand Ag hall ($25M); realignment of Washington Way ($3.3M); renovation of The Memorial Union East Wing for student activity space.
The projects, totaling nearly $300M are funded by state taxes, student fees, bond revenues and philanthropic donations.
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