Clackamas Community College's groundbreaking ceremony this spring was the launch of Oregon City's Beavercreek Employment Area marketing campaign: Putting Education to Work.
CCC's Industrial Technical Center is expected to be completed in fall of 2018.
submitted architectural rendering
Construction has begun on the Clackamas Community College Industrial Technical Center expected to be completed in fall of 2018.
photo by Raymond Rendleman
Clackamas Community College's groundbreaking ceremony this spring was the launch of Oregon City's Beavercreek Employment Area marketing campaign: Putting Education to Work.
Thanks to an upgrade in Clackamas Community College's bond rating and a competitive market, the college received nearly $8 million in revenue in its recent bond sale.
The extra $7.9 million will help the college get closer to closing its $44 million funding gap. When CCC first explored its needs prior to the 2014 bond measure, the college identified $155 million of needed projects.
Voters authorized paying off the debt on CCC's $90 million bond with successful passage of a ballot measure in 2014. Matching funds from the state are providing $8 million for CCC's Milwaukie-area Harmony campus and $8 million for the Industrial Technical Center at the Oregon City campus
CCC is asking the Oregon Legislature this year for another matching $8 million for the DeJardin/Pauling Science Complex and an $8 million match for the student center (totaling $32 million).
On May 30, the college sold the remaining $45 million in bonds of the original $90 million authorization provided by the voters in 2014 to finance capital construction at CCC. Due to a high volume of interested investors competing in the marketplace, the college sold the bonds at a premium, totaling $52.9 million in proceeds.
Moody's Investors Service upgraded the rating on CCC general obligation bonds from Aa2 to Aa1. Moody's cites a healthy local economy, modest but consistent annual growth in property taxes, affordable tuition and healthy reserves as credit strengths.
"I'm pleased with the improvement to CCC's bond rating. It is well deserved based on the college's financial position," Vice President of College Services Alissa Mahar said. "We work hard to be good stewards of public dollars and we will continue this practice through the life of our bond projects and beyond."
More than 52 percent of voters in the district approved this bond measure to update and modernize college facilities. It is estimated that the structure of the bond will not result in an increase in the property tax rate for property owners in the district.
The goals of the bond projects are to:
Increase local access to affordable educational programs that will allow students to transfer to four-year universities or obtain training for family-wage jobs.Train students in high-demand careers, such as nursing, engineering and manufacturing.Update and modernize equipment so students are adequately trained to meet current industry standards.
Bond projects include a new health sciences building on the Harmony Community Campus as well as a new Industrial Technical Center, a new student services building and renovation of the DeJardin/Pauling Science Complex.
