In what has taken many months, the University of Oregon has finalized the purchase of Concordia campus. The university expects to welcome students to the new UO Portland campus in fall 2023. The campus, located in Northeast Portland, will soon be an important part of the ducks in Portland. According to the university, the final purchase price for the property was slightly under that — $60,350,000.
A big donor will receive the honors. The campus will be named after the Baller family who donated more than $425 million. The donor is former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The UO Portland campus will notably house the new Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health. Along with The Ballmer Institute, UO plans to move some of its current Portland programs to the new campus.
There are some great ideas going around about what will be there. According to UO, the institute is creating a new bachelor’s degree focused on behavioral health, pending approval from the state.
The university institute expects to hire roughly 20 new faculty members and plans to partner with K-12 schools statewide, starting with Portland Public Schools. This is a good look and is based on the community’s history with Concordia. Before closing in 2020, Concordia’s education program had a partnership with PPS centered at Faubion K-8, which is located right next to the 19-acre campus.
The Portland Medium reported on this story back in March. UO’s Board of Trustees approved a $60.5 million purchase agreement for the Portland property. The former private Concordia University, affiliated with the Lutheran Church, has a more than 100-year history in Northeast Portland, located in a neighborhood named after it.
