More than 400 students, educators, elected officials, and community members gathered on the warm, sunny morning of April 7 to break ground and celebrate the development of a signature new facility for education in Portland.

“This is how we turn hope into opportunity,” said City of Portland Mayor Charlie Hales.

The new building will combine Portland Public Schools’ Faubion School and the Concordia University College of Education. In addition, Trillium Family Services joins them in collaborating to create 3 to PhD® – a new model for education that aims to create safer, healthier and more educated communities.

Prior to the Groundbreaking Ceremony much construction has happened at the Faubion site. In February demolition crews took down the old building to make way for the new, and within a couple of weeks the buildings were gone. All scrap metals were recycled, thousands of bricks will be reused and all the asphalt and concrete are being recycled and reused on site. At the end of February construction began with foundations for the new building being poured. As March came to an end more foundations were prepared for pouring and seismic sheer walls began to rise from the ground.