"The resolution approved by the council Wednesday calls for development and construction costs not to exceed $420 a square foot. "

Wow! How prudent of them!

Oops
"Traditional five- to 10-story office buildings in Portland cost in the neighborhood of $150 a square foot",

But wait it's slighlty less that the "Port of Portland HQ $425 a square foot".

So these frugal fools are saving $5 sq ft.

And when it ends up being $547 sq ft they'll say it will be worth it in the long run.

Stop it is what must happen.

All of it.

This project, the insane UR McLoughlin Area Plan, Milwaukie Light Rail, Beaverton's massive UR plan and the plot to force MAX and Portland's planning madness upon Vancouver.

I just check the FW Dodge data (they track construction spending). The average cost of building a private office or bank building in the metro area between 2005 and 2009 was $106.20 a square foot. I suppose if you were to add fees, contractor margins, and land costs you might have an average of $200. Why do these government buildings cost so much? If it is sustainable, doesn't it have to be less expensive than unsustainable?

"the council Wednesday calls for development and construction costs not to exceed $420 a square foot. At $75 million -- down from the $90 million estimated last year"

Gee, can we do that with sewer and water projects too? Smokescreen - tack another $10/month onto your sewer/water bill people.

"The design team will be led by SERA Architects, Gerding Edlen Development and GBD Architects."

Whatta surprise! Sammy's re-election committee gets all the work!!!

By what possible criteria is $425/sf sustainable? The only parties leasing this space will be the government agencies and paid consultants who lobbied for its construction. No for-profit business not supported directly by said agencies, departments or consultants would be able, or more importantly willing, to spend this kind of money for office space. At the end of the day (I just love this expression!) what we will have is tenants whose rent will be directly subsidized by the same tax payers who were fleeced to build this monstrosity in the first place. This is certainly an example of an environmental Ponzi scheme. The only good news is that these parasitic organizations will suffer in the heat of summer and the cold of winter. It will be interesting to monitor the electric usage for fans in the summer and space heaters in the winter.

Sounds like the worlds first sustainable sweatlodge:

To have this structure work, tenants have had to agree that they would be comfortable with cooler temperatures in the winter and warmer temperatures in the summer, unlike other office buildings in Portland.

Let's see what sort of "energy savings" appear when everyone brings from home a fan and an electric heater.

Since the building is a bunker for bureaucrats, I'm sure there will be memo from one of the city's many managers banning the fans and heaters and reminding employees that a little sweating and shivering is all part of "sustainability."

The public would not like this in normal times, but to flaunt these costly expenditures now in the dire worldwide economic picture tells our community that we the people simply do not fit in the equation of any consideration.
This Mayor and Council serve their masters.

OK where the hell are the feds and the charges for theft of honest services? Seriously, they are ripping off their employers, us the taxpayers.

Also keep in mind the solemn vows by all involved that the Sustainability Center will be a "Living Building".

http://oregonsustainabilitycenter.org/

I'll quote that web page here, because over time they'll quietly edit it to reflect reality--and statements like the one below will disappear:

As one of the highest performing commercial buildings in the world, OSC will achieve triple net-zero performance in energy and water use and carbon emissions. It is designed to meet the world’s most stringent green building criteria, the Cascadia Region Green Building Council’s Living Building Challenge™.

Track this one carefully, folks: the building intends to provide enough water and energy to meet its needs.

Jack will appreciate that the "Scone" has found his way into this project, too.

ecohuman.... ugh... the words the Scone made me want to toss my dinner.

This whole thing is such a shakedown. G-E tells Sam they want to build a green bldg at 3x the cost and it will be more uncomfortable. Sam laps it up.

How about building a normal bldg at 1x the cost (if we really need it) and setting the thermostats at 80 in the summer and 60 in the winter?

Seing the names on the list helps self-identify the parasites that like to spend other peoples money.

We need to keep a list ready on reasons why the "Scone" should not be welcomed back as candidate for Mayor or Council.