I made it as far as the Executive Summary, second paragraph, last sentence before I had to stop reading it:

The ultimate beneficiaries would be Oregon and Oregonians.

Why is UO getting blown off & out?

History of OHSU
http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/facts/history.cfm

Knights to give $100 million to OHSU Cancer Institute
10/29/08 Portland, Ore.

The gift, the largest in OHSU history, will allow the institute to advance its groundbreaking work in developing cancer treatments
http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/news_events/news/2008/cancergift102908.cfm

Why is UO getting blown off & out?

They've moved on, to football.

If you read through the entire document, I think you'll see through the hyperbolic sales pitch and all the magical thinking, and recognize what is going on here.

"PSU and OHSU are two of the largest contractors and purchasers in the Metro region."

"Together, they contribute about $5 billion in economic activity and
about 41,000 jobs to the region."

"OUS [Oregon University System] and OHSU are considered equal partners in the project[new building @ South Waterfront], which will be paid for with $110 million in state bonds to be repaid by the institutions, a $40 million private donation to OHSU, and $10 million from TriMet for a light-rail project. OHSU is providing the land. During construction, PSU will act as the fiscal agent and contracting authority and OHSU as the primary construction
manager."

It may also be helpful to view the Frontline piece from earlier this year entitled Colleges, Inc.

If we were talking about academia credentials a good analogy about the proposed merger would be Boardwalk merging with Baltic Avenue. Since we are actually talking about real estate funding manipulations we are talking about merging Boardwalk with Baltic.

Expansion of the commercial dead zone.

Peucellier, the proposed new PSU/OSHU Sustainable building in SoWhat is almost entirely a speculative building. Only about 8% of the space for incubator companies is pre-leased (only an "interest letter"). Since PSU/OHSU are now in the developement business, why should taxpayers be on the hook for $110 Million-over 1/2 of the proposed building cost?

If it's a good idea, marketable, then let the "good idea" finance and pay the debt off itself.

And then there is the issue of public entities competing with the private sector. Why should the building be competing with other property owners, investors, developers that have to pay property taxes, debt costs, get less subisidies (which will be numerous if PSU//OHSU builds it), and then not get the fed, state, and even local grants, tax subsidies, lottery dollars, state bonds, etc.???

The OUS/OHSU/PSU "Life Sciences Collaborative Center" in SoWa is a bigger crap shoot on bitoech than was the Tram.
The only reason $110 million in lottery backed bonds were had was due to it being hidden in an end of session bill that no one read.

This new center is also having the entire site raised 14 feet to accomodtae Milwaukie Light Rail next to it. That and having to relocate the releatively new Streetcar in SoWa as well.

What a waste of money.

There's been a total abandonment of due diligence and fiscal prudence with the SoWa, the new center and Milwaukie Light Rail.

It's been replaced with things like Metro's Carlotta Collette's enamor over the new Milwaukie Light Rail Bridge.

"I'm really impressed that this will be the first ped/bike/transit only bridge in the county."

It never occured to her that no one has built one because it's so expensive and stupid.

Milwaukie Light Rail & it's new bridge, if built, will be the most expensive short shuttle in the country.

This is about funneling money from the state to OHSU. PSU is a "partner" in the same sense that that restaurant in Goodfellas was a "partner" with the mob.

Hopefully they at least understand they are being used, and extract some pound of flesh for their trouble, but we'll see.

We need an R-1 institution in Portland, and the only way to get there is to bring OHSU and PSU together. OHSU is one of the leading medical, neuroscience, and biomedical research centers in the country. The partnership can and should lead to an eventual merger.

Nice theory Paul.

Sounds swell.

All one has to do to think of it as making sense is to forget the charlatans and fools involved.

The idea that this is a prudent or well thought out venture by these people is nothing but a cruel joke.

Having sat in committee hearings and listened to these people take a few questions and fail miserably to demonstrate any more care than Vera ever did during the entire SoWa episode there is only one outcome this will deliver.

Complete failure followed by yet another chapter of same with officials responsible for it peeling off into lavish retirement entitlements that aren't even funded.

Each and every one of these escapades is perpetrated with the identical good idea sounding rhetoric.

PSU Tram?

Maybe they'll shake things up and pay cash for their joint projects? Heh, heh.

I just threw up a bit in my mouth.

Be really nice if PSU spent the anywheres near the same amount of money actually making PSU a better school instead of just bigger.

Do any of these public types know anything for economic development besides keeping Walsh and Gerding-Edlen busy?