New PCC center to open on Swan Island

The public is invited to the grand opening of phase one of Portland Community College's new Swan Island Training Center.

An open house will be held from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at the center, located at 6400 N. Cutter Circle, Portland. It will feature tours of the new 20,000-square-foot trades education building, which will house the PCC's Trades & Industry Division.

The center is opening as a resource for continuing education, training, retraining and professional development for Swan Island businesses. Courses offered at it include: a Facilities Maintenance Technology two-year degree; Facilities Maintenance Technology and HVAC Installers certificates; Millwright, Industrial Mechanics, Limited Maintenance Electrician, Manufacturing Plant Electrician and Stationary Engineer apprenticeships; and a Limited Building Maintenance Electrician training program.

The open house will be held in partnership with the Swan Island Business Association. Swan Island is one of Portlands most active industrial communities, with manufacturing, shipping, construction and distribution all being represented with significant business operations.

The center is located in a former Oregon Motor Pool Facility that PCC bought in 2010. The renovation cost $4.6 million. Most of the money, 3.6 million, was earmarked from PCC's 2008 voter-approved $374 million construction bond. An additional $1 million from the Oregon Department of Community College and Workforce Development was approved by the 2012 Oregon Legislature.

The Trades & Industry program had been located at three miles away at PCC's Cascade Campus. It outgrew that space, however, prompting the move to the new, larger center.

According to PCC, general contractor J.E. Dunn spent the summer preparing the five-acre former motor pool site. They first removed old equipment, including a 20,000-gallon gasoline and a 12,000-gallon ethanol tank. Metals, old gear, appliances and furniture were sold or recycled. Auto lifts and related equipment were moved to PCCs automotive program at the Sylvania Campus or donated to local high school programs.

The existing 11,000 square foot structure was then renovated, with an additional 12,000 square feet was added for classes and lab space for Facilities Maintenance Technology HVAC-R (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration), Electrical Trades Apprenticeship, and Fiber Optics.

Fall classes will start at the center on Sept. 22.

More about the bond program at PCC: http://bond.pcc.edu/

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New PCC center to open on Swan Island