After years of delay, Portland Public Schools is in the final stages of negotiations to buy a building to serve as its long-promised Center for Black Student Excellence, Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong said Tuesday.
She confirmed to The Oregonian/OregonLive that the building in question is the One North development North Williams Avenue and Fremont Street. The 35,000 square foot mixed-use wood-framed building is a Rubenesque neighborhood landmark, whose architects have said they were inspired by the work of modernist Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reported in February that district officials had zeroed in on that property, which is within the Albina neighborhood, the historic center of Portland’s Black community, and within walking distance of two elementary schools, one charter school, one middle school and one high school that collectively house about 18% of the district’s Black enrollment…