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Mt. Scott Community Center news and updates will be provided here. Enter your email address on the Mt. Scott Community Center Project Contact List and we will also include you in an email alert every time we post a project update.
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Project Updates
October 2024
Join us Saturday, October 19 (12pm-3pm) for a Community Dye Event at Mt. Scott Park
Isabella, a member of the Pit River Tribe, Madesi band, with Salvadoran descent, thoughtfully documents her everyday life through painting and stitchwork—a theme she refers to as “now-isms.” Her upcoming large-scale, mixed-media piece will incorporate stitchwork, painting, and natural dye techniques, drawing inspiration from Portland, its people, and her own experiences within this time and place.
This dyeing activity will be facilitated by Made of Madder, the creative endeavor of local textile artist Cydni Carter Lopez. Lunch will be provided by Javelina. All are welcome to participate and help shape this public artwork!
October 2024
Exciting progress to share! The Mt. Scott Community Center Seismic Retrofit and Expansion project is right on track... and ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! The *cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels were being lifted into place as Bremik Construction team members led Portland Parks & Recreation staff on a tour of the project progress.
*Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a large-scale, prefabricated, solid wood panel. Lightweight yet very strong, with superior acoustic, fire, seismic and thermal performance, CLT is also easier and faster to install, generating almost no waste onsite. CLT offers design flexibility and low environmental impacts.
The building’s new design draws inspiration from a cabin nestled in the woods. This translates into sloping roofs with deep overhangs, all planned to be constructed from a mass timber structural system of cross-laminated timber (CLT). The outdoor covered spaces create a large and welcoming ‘front porch’ entry. Within the space, the CLT wood structure provides a natural warmth to the new lobby, fitness center, event hall, and preschool classrooms. The generous main hallway, lit with a central skylight, provides opportunity for community members to connect.
In the October 1, 2024 photos above:
- A Bremik Construction crew member leads Portland Parks & Recreation staff on a tour of the interior of the Mt. Scott Community Center. In the photo, the construction team member is standing in what will be the main hallway, as he points toward the main lobby and registration area.
- A large crane lifts a cross-laminated timber (CLT) panel into place on the expanded portion of the project.
- A close-up look at the beautiful, warm feel of the exposed beams and headers throughout the interior of the center.
February 2024
Portland Parks & Recreation is excited to announce the next phase of the Mt. Scott Community Center Seismic Retrofit and Expansion Project!
PP&R Director, Adena Long was joined by PP&R staff members, and project partners for a ceremonial ground-breaking event at Mt. Scott Community Center on Thursday, February 22, 2024 to celebrate this significant step in better serving the Mt. Scott/Arleta Neighborhood, and all of SE Portland.
Our Portland Parks project team, along with our partners from Bremik Construction, have been hard at work, since the closing of the center in late November, preparing the building for demolition (which began on Friday, February 16). The exciting expansion of the center that will include:
- New, wide open, and welcoming front lobby and entry area
- Significantly enhanced accessibility features, including an elevator to all 2nd floor amenities and classrooms
- Expanded fitness and aerobic spaces
- Additional classrooms and meeting spaces
- And, a new, huge event hall for PP&R programming and hosting community events
The project is on track for a 2025 grand re-opening.
During construction, Mt. Scott Community Center preschool offerings, activities, and classes will be delivered at multiple Portland Parks & Recreation sites close to MSCC, including Woodstock Community Center, Arleta, Lane, Grout SUN Community Schools, and the East Portland Community Center.
Swimming activities will be relocated to East Portland Community Center Pool, where Portland Parks & Recreation is offering an expanded schedule.
November 2023
Mt. Scott Community Center will close to the public on November 23, 2023. The Mt. Scott Community Center Seismic Retrofit and Expansion project is expected to be complete in the spring of 2025.
During construction, Mt. Scott Community Center preschool offerings, activities, and classes will be delivered at multiple Portland Parks & Recreation sites close to MSCC, including Woodstock Community Center, Arleta, Lane, Grout SUN Community Schools, and the East Portland Community Center.
Swimming activities will be relocated to East Portland Community Center Pool, where Portland Parks & Recreation is offering an expanded schedule.
October 2023
What To Expect at MSCC This Fall: Construction is scheduled to begin in December 2023 and will require a complete facility move-out beginning in late November. The community center will be fully closed during the expected 18-month construction period.
- Registered classes will continue to take place at MSCC through November 5, 2023. Registration for these classes begins Wednesday, September 6 at 12:30pm.
- Drop-in activities will continue this fall (until closure) as space is available.
August 2023
The Mt. Scott Community Center Seismic Retrofit and Expansion project was posted on the City’s solicitation website on August 29, 2023. Bids are due no later than October 26, 2023.
The project is a standard "low bid" and bidders must be prequalified in one of the following categories:
- 19-New Building Construction
- 20-Building Alteration & Repair
The pre-qualification process can take up to 4 weeks. Contractors interested in bidding as prime contractors on this project are advised to begin the process as soon as they can. Additional information can be found at Apply for Contractor Prequalification (Construction Only).
Application for the project bid solicitation can be found here
July 2023
The Construction bidding process will be announced in August 2023. If you are interested in the bidding process, when it opens, please review the following information at this City of Portland link: Resources for Businesses | Portland.gov
March 2023
CURRENT WORK: The project received land use approval in early February. We will be submitting the development and construction permits In February. We are currently working on the council documents for authorization to bid.
BIDDING PROCESS: Due to council process timelines, we should have that Mid to late March. We would then send the package to procurement for advertisement in April or May. That process typically remains open for 4-5 weeks. We will seek to award in June or July.
CONSTRUCTION: We anticipate construction will begin in November or December 2023. The construction date will require a full move-out of the facility about 3 weeks prior to our construction start date.
ACCESS: The Mt. Scott Community Center building will be fully closed during construction. There will be no programming at the building during the construction period.
All the most current news and information on the Mt. Scott Community Center Seismic Retrofit and Expansion Project will be available on this project page.
October 2022
A public open house meeting was held on September 24th, 2022 at Mt. Scott. The community weighed in on the proposed renovation designs. Community feedback resulted in the final preferred design that was taken forward to construction documents. The project included a review with the PP&R Accessibility Advisory Committee. The September 24, 2022 meeting was accompanied by an online survey open Saturday, September 24 - Monday, October 10, 2022.
The project team worked with the Community Engagement Liaisons Services (CELs) program with the City of Portland to offer in-person interpretation and translation at the event and promotion of the survey in their respective language communities. The survey was provided in five languages: English, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. A link to a survey in each of these languages was posted on the Mt Scott Community Center Renovation website.
The survey was promoted through lawn signs placed inside Mt. Scott Community Center, throughout Mt. Scott Park, and in the neighborhood, emails sent out to all community members who were registered users of the Mt. Scott Community Center services and activities from 2018-2022, and the 1,400 opt-in members of the Mt. Scott Park email contact list. An additional 12,300 households were reached via Portland Parks & Recreation's Nextdoor.com platform.
September 2022
Thank you to all who were able to join us for the Mt. Scott Community Center Seismic Retrofit and Expansion Project Community Open House on Saturday, September 24, 2022.
A full collection of community engagement boards from the event can be seen in the pdf below:
November 2021
In October 2021, PP&R and the Project Team conducted public outreach (with support from JLA Public Involvement) to help determine community needs and priorities for the MSCC renovation. Public comments were received through a 30-question survey that was open from October 11, 2021 through October 25, 2021. Based on the demographics of the area the Mt Scott Community Center serves, the project team worked with the Community Engagement Liaisons Services (CELs) program with the City of Portland to conduct additional outreach to communities who may be isolated due to language barriers. The survey was provided in 5 languages: English, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. A link to a survey in each of these languages was posted on the Mt Scott Community Center renovations website. The survey was also advertised through 8 lawn signs placed in the neighborhood and sent out to 1,400 opt-in members of the Mt. Scott Park email contact list, and an additional 6,500 households were reached via Portland Parks & Recreation's Nextdoor.com platform.
Project Overview
Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) is preparing to rehabilitate and expand Mt. Scott Community Center (MSCC) to better serve current and future generations of Portlanders. The expansion will replace all of the areas being demolished, expand the fitness center, add a new aerobics room and three new classrooms, meeting spaces, expand the lobby, and add a new commercial kitchen for the event hall. The existing Mt. Scott pool, gymnasium, and popular indoor skating rink will remain.
Mt. Scott Community Center provides court sports, Lifelong Recreation programs, an indoor swimming pool, roller skating, exercise/fitness classes (including yoga) preschool programs, day camps, art and music classes, teen activities, private parties, community gatherings, rental/party spaces, and more.
Like many public facilities, the Mt. Scott Community Center building complex has grown over time through an incremental funding process. The existing community center consists of an ad-hoc collection of different linked buildings dating from the 1920s through the 1990s. Most of the facility, outside of the natatorium, was build prior to the 1960s and has been designated by the City of Portland as an unreinforced masonry building. In order to improve community safety PP&R has embarked on a renovation project to bring the Mt. Scott Community Center building to current seismic compliance. In addition to the safety project, PP&R will also be expanding the building to improve ADA accessibility and expand recreational programming. As a first step in realizing the rehabilitation, a comprehensive visual condition assessment was undertaken. The three steps involved in Phase I, include a condition assessment, functional programming, functional assessment of the existing facility, and conceptual approaches to maximize the use of the current center, along with conceptual recommendations for improving operations and program offerings.
The realization of this work will result in a demolition and construction project at Mt. Scott Community Center. Significant demolition and construction will necessitate the closure of the community center that will last approximately 18 months. We anticipate that this closure will begin in late 2023.
Step 1: Condition Assessment
An on-site visual assessment was conducted by the A/E Consultant Team accompanied by PPR facilities and management staff, on May 16, 2019. Existing conditions were documented by the team using photographs and narratives, noting the condition of building systems, structures, enclosures, exiting, and accessibility. Observed code deficiencies were also noted. Current uses and their functions were analyzed regarding space utilization, efficiency, accommodation, and practical adjacencies to other spaces and activities. A code analysis of the existing facility was performed to identify any existing code deficiencies.
Step 2: Programming
The A/E Team prepared and distributed a functional program questionnaire to PPR. Follow-up interviews with PPR and MSCC Staff were conducted to verify and confirm the needs Mt. Scott Community Center Condition Assessment Draft 3 described in the questionnaires. Each area was toured with staff to better understand the type and size of equipment related to each activity or program. A Summary Functional Program was completed codifying the information gathered during this step of the process. The Summary Functional Program and Condition Assessment serve as the Basis of Design for the development of conceptual design approaches.
Step 3: Community Engagement and Conceptual Design Approaches
Thanks to all who helped shape the future of the Mt. Scott Community Center by completing the Mt. Scott Community Center Renovation Survey.
Mt. Scott Community Center provides court sports, swimming pool, roller skating, yoga classes, daycare, art and music classes, teen activities, private parties, community gatherings, exercise and fitness programs. The existing community center is made up of a collection of buildings dating from the 1920s through the 1990s. Over the next several years, the Mt. Scott Community Center will be renovated to ensure that the building is seismically sound and can best serve the community for years to come.
We asked for your input to help us understand how some of the spaces in the building can be designed to make the community center welcoming to everyone. The survey asked a series of questions to help us understand how you currently use the center, how it could be improved, and how the design can reflect the spirit of the Mt. Scott-Arleta community. We’ll use this feedback to refine designs for the rehabilitation and understand how the center can be more welcoming to all.
Project Funding
Project funding includes $15 million from the Build Portland 2018 initiative and $7 million from the Mayor’s Livability Emergency Coordination funds. The MSCC improvements are also made possible by more than $12 million in Parks System Development Charges (SDCs). SDCs are not General Fund tax dollars; rather they are one-time fees assessed on new development and can only be used to expand the capacity of the park system (for example, new park developments), not maintenance. SDC funds help ensure that Portland's quality of life keeps pace with our growing and changing city by providing the additional park and recreation facilities needed to accommodate growth.
Project Timeline
- Scope/Set-up: 2018-2021
- Community Engagement: Fall 2021-project completion
- Planning/Design: Fall 2021-Fall 2023
- Procurement/Bid: Winter 2022-Fall 2023
- Construction: Winter 2023-Fall 2025
- Close-out: Fall 2025-Winter 2026