The Daily Dig
Portland Public Schools broke ground in June on a new Cleveland High School, ending a wait for construction that started in 2011 when voters rejected the district's first modernization bond. That original measure would have covered Cleveland, Jefferson and Roosevelt. A scaled-back bond passed the following year, but Cleveland and Jefferson got dropped in favor of Franklin and Grant, leaving the school on the back burner while the district worked through renovations at Roosevelt, McDaniel, Lincoln and Benson.
The project finally moved forward on a $1.8 billion bond voters approved in 2025, which is also funding modernizations at Jefferson and Wells high schools. All three target a fall 2029 opening and will run entirely on electricity. Cleveland carries the biggest price tag of the group at more than $470 million, driven largely by a tight urban site hemmed in by single-family homes, Powell Boulevard, and a parking lot and fast food restaurant. The schedule runs three years to work around limited site access and to limit overtime near residential neighbors.
Cleveland students won't be on campus for any of it. They're relocating to Marshall High School on Southeast 91st Avenue for the duration, the same swing site used during the Franklin and Grant projects. The design calls for two four-story wings, one academic and one for performing arts and events, connected by a skybridge and wrapped around an outdoor courtyard. Plans include two new gymnasiums, a performing arts theater, and a relocated main entrance shifting from Southeast 26th Avenue to Southeast 28th Avenue. The stadium and track stay in their current location several blocks away, and the district is still negotiating with Portland Parks and Recreation over turfing Powell Park for baseball and softball practice.
The current building has stood at its Southeast Portland location since 1929. Its demolition drew an eleventh-hour campaign from an Ashland resident on historic preservation grounds, though it didn't change the district's plans. The design process included a Design Advisory Group with student involvement, and the school is likely to be renamed when the new building opens.
Snapshot:
Project: New Cleveland High School
Owner: Portland Public Schools
Location: Southeast Portland, Oregon
Groundbreaking: June 10, 2026
Estimated Cost: More than $470 million
Funding Source: $1.8 billion Portland Public Schools bond (2025)
Related Projects: Jefferson High School and Wells High School modernizations
Expected Opening: Fall 2029
Power Source: All-electric
Construction Timeline: 3 years
Swing Site: Marshall High School (Southeast 91st Avenue)
Design Features: Two four-story wings connected by skybridge, outdoor courtyard, two gymnasiums, performing arts theater
Entrance Change: Relocating from Southeast 26th Avenue to Southeast 28th Avenue
Site Constraints: Bordered by single-family homes, Powell Boulevard, and a parking lot/fast food property
Existing Building Age: Original school opened in 1929
Community Process: Design Advisory Group included student involvement in the new building's design
Open Item: Negotiations with Portland Parks and Recreation over turf field at Powell Park
TheJobWalk Thoughts
The all-electric requirement across Cleveland, Jefferson and Wells is worth watching. The source only confirms the power source, not a unified spec, but electrical subs and equipment suppliers should still track common design and procurement needs across the three as PPS works through them.
A three-year build on a landlocked site with homes on two sides makes this a logistics job first. GCs should weight access management and delivery windows as heavily as the schedule itself.
Marshall's repeat use as a swing site shows how PPS manages major high school work across separate bond cycles. Cleveland is the only one of the three current projects requiring full student relocation, so that pattern shouldn't be read as a signal for Jefferson or Wells.
