But...it's for the children...oh no!
This just proves that OHSU and PSU are really in the real estate development business, and not about education.
This is all about the personal enrichment of the gang of developers who rule kiddie hall somewhat behind the scenes...but not too much.
And if mere citizens object we are slapped down, threatened, or ignored.

All together now:
"Yes, mistakes have been made. But we've learned from them, and it's time to look forward - not backward. All we can do now is give you our most sincere pledge that nothing like this will ever happen again."

And to think, if the tram were not built, all of this construction would be taking place in Hillsboro!

"Oh, but it's the bad economy. Who could've known?"

Meanwhile, let's do it again in the CEID. Portland brain donors aren't totally broke yet, and besides, new ones keep getting in line!

I loved the part where OHSU basically said "sorry, we don't have enough money to build a $250 million dollar complex with a biotech incubator. So instead we're going to build a $295 million dollar complex without one."

Sounds to me like OHSU/PSU made a pretty halfhearted attempt to raise the funds to build the biotech facility in order justify modifying the project to build the complex that they really wanted all along.

I am only surprised they didn't make any reference to those OHSU biotech jobs shipped to Florida.

Salem bribed OHSU to create some jobs, but they forgot to tell them they meant OREGON jobs. Doh!

http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/subsidy-tracker/fl-ohsu-vaccine-gene-therapy-institute

This says OHSU's VGTI created 200 jobs in Florida...They also got an $8 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support HIV vaccine research.

Vera and the job creating geniuses in Salem got played. And they don't care.

Go GATORS!

The whole Portland thing is bringing to mind a revivalist tent show in some small 19th century American town, where hucksters promise that if we believe, if we open our hearts and our wallets, we will be saved from eternal damnation for our sins against Mother Earth and be forgiven for our past ways of life.

Trust us.

Has SoWhat created even one biotech job? I thought the whole point with the public subsidy of the infrastructure was to create high paying "clean" jobs, which would generate more taxes, and in the end it would kinda sorta pay for itself. They aren't even trying to create jobs at this point, and every single politician who backed this mess should be ashamed of themselves.

Mr. Grumpy, what it's starting to remind me of is a kid's sandbox. I'm serious: look on downtown Portland from the other side of the Burnside Bridge and look at all of the discarded toys and general piles, with the tram being the crowning touch. Work on this for a little bit, get bored, play with some other toys, get bored again, and finally wander off and let everything get rained on. When the developers cry "Think about the children!", well, they aren't talking about the chronologically immature.

Texas Triffid Ranch,
You have spoken. I've tried to think of what this is like and come up with a few things, but kids playing in a sandbox? That's it. That explains the toy trains and the whole thing. Plus the little bratty attitude they get when they don't get their way. Nice work.

My window smashing rages must end as it is eating up my paltry bank/savings account. Either I gotta quit reading bojack.org OR some ethical, honest prosecutor starts going after crimi...
Sorry. Can I plead temporary insanity? Gotta run need to call the glass replacement company (again).

TriffidRancher,
Sandbox analogy is good. I like that, except how to explain the graft behind the scenes? Or is that just how they buy their toys?

Beaverton admitted that "build it and they will come" failed. SoWhat is a failure. MAX did not induce growth.

As the streetcar and light rail proponents cry, "You can't build your way out of congestion". They're right. We need to stop building urban renewal. I have no problem with TRULY blighted areas, but name just one in Portland. Heck, name just one in the either Portland Metro Area. But to bulldoze existing properties and rebuild like you can in SimCity has very real consequences in the real world. Today, we can't maintain current services, our school systems are financially struggling, our transportation system is in disrepair...and the civic leaders just want to continue that "progress"?

"as kooks": Many of us were and continue to be called names, like nimbys, tea baggers, obstructionists, angry...Wouldn't it be nice if these name callers addressed the factual contentions that are raised?

PDC and CoP are continuing with the name calling and the representatives of OHSU, PSU, Metro, TriMet have continued to join in. Time to stop.

Maybe the lawsuit(s) will help make them all open their minds to listen to other perspectives. It doesn't matter if the other perspectives are 20%, 40% or 60% of citizens, they must listen with respect and consider and hopefully employ some their perspectives. That is why voting on major issues as Clackamas and Washington County citizens are forcing is about time.

Sounds like another one of those so-called green jobs in Sammyboy’s reckless itinerary that is just totally full of gas.

"It's very clear this is not an institution attuned to thinking about commercialization in any serious ways."

Jobs? Florida can have the jobs! Portland does not need no jobs!

Usual Kevin, You bet SoWhat created biotech jobs, I'm sure the new ICE jail will have a computer or two.

Not surprising this was in the Trib and not The O, the latter of which was humping SoWhat and the tram from the get-go.

Makes one pine for some honest journalism that actually advocates for the public interest. But alas...

Biotech jobs? When PDC is asked about the number of SoWhat biotech jobs, they pause, then state the lab jobs analyzing urine in the new SoWhat OHSU Health Club are biotech jobs. They also include the jobs they moved down from PillHill to SoWhat as created jobs. It's all a new way of counting.

I loved the part where OHSU basically said "sorry, we don't have enough money to build a $250 million dollar complex with a biotech incubator. So instead we're going to build a $295 million dollar complex without one."

That is what it is all about here, building and more building, whether we need them or not, and if we have to tear down half the city to make room to continue, so be it.

If we have to tear down our economy to continue, so be it.

Never mind what happens after projects are built, often no capitol operating expenses.
If we really needed all these buildings, ......

“The City of Tear Down”
for some it has turned into
“The City of Tears.”