Franz River Campus

The University of Portland completed its purchase of the Triangle Park property on the Willamette River waterfront in December 2008. The property referred to as the "Franz River Campus" is comprised of 35 acres adjacent to the west and 135 feet below the main campus. The 2,250 linear feet of waterfront provides a host of opportunities for natural resources for the University's environmental science program, and expansion of our facilities. The University worked with its public partners including the City of Portland, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Environmental Protection Agency and neighborhood leaders to discuss the short and long-term development plans of the property. The culmination of these discussion and vision for the site is in the University’s 2013 Conditional Use Master Plan.

Site-wide environmental remediation was completed between 2012-2014. Since completion of the environmental remediation, the University has completed the following projects on River Campus:

• North Parking Lot – In 2015, the University constructed a 113-stall parking lot with pedestrian sidewalks, landscape areas, and a stormwater facility.
• Soccer Fields – In 2018, the University constructed two soccer fields (one synthetic turf and one natural grass) on the south end of River Campus. The fields are designed for soccer practice and other forms of student recreation but are not designed for formal matches or other spectator events.

Projects Underway

In addition to the existing soccer fields and a north parking lot, the 35-acre site is under construction to add the following program elements:

• a physical plant building (located on the bluff side of the railroad tracks);
• a track and field facility, a boathouse with an environmental lab, and a dock (located on the river side of the railroad tracks); and
• a segment of the public North Greenway Trail (located on the river side of the railroad tracks). N. Van Houten Place will be the connection to this segment of the trail until neighboring property owners develop.
• Additionally, site infrastructure will be completed including additional parking, stormwater facilities, and rebuilding N. Van Houten Place with a new railroad crossing signal. The improved N. Van Houten Place will include sidewalk and street lighting for pedestrian safety.

The existing north parking lot on the River Campus is now closed during construction to ensure the safety of all. Please avoid going down N. Van Houten Place as there will be considerable heavy truck traffic during construction.

Rendering of proposed Franz River Campus development