Clackamas Community College is making room for students and local businesses to be involved in the school’s upcoming construction projects, from the ground up.

The college hosted what it’s calling a first-of-its kind construction bond fair in mid-December at its Oregon City campus. The fair was designed to give students and community members who are interested or just starting out in the construction industry a behind-the-scenes look at the multi-million-dollar projects the college is planning to build out in the coming years.

For years, community colleges have prioritized courses that equip students with hands-on skills, such as in the manufacturing and construction trades. And the schools have often needed to make major upgrades to their buildings and grounds.

But Clackamas’ effort to pair its mission to prepare the future workforce, while providing opportunities to students and businesses in campus improvements, is a new concept.

College leaders say the event was particularly geared toward construction trade businesses owned by women, people of color and other historically underrepresented groups.

“We were really excited about passing the bond but that’s a lot of money that the college has to spend and be responsible for,” said Casey Layton, the chief culture and impact officer at CCC.

Voters in Clackamas County narrowly passed the college’s $120 million construction bond in November 2024, continuing a property tax of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.

“The community is paying the bill and we want to make sure that those dollars go back into the community,” Layton said. And there are plenty of projects for construction-curious students and community members to participate in.

On deck in the coming years is construction work to rehabilitate and modernize existing instructional buildings, safety and technology upgrades across the college’s three campuses and renovations to athletic fields. Completely new construction is also planned, including a new natural resources education facility and a space flight simulator.

At the fair, design and construction firms shared current project plans, projected timelines and hiring needs for the different types of work planned at Clackamas. College leaders walked through the contractor bidding process, from the initial application to final approval from the college’s board of directors.

Some firms committed to offering paid internships to community college students, including opportunities in pre-construction, engineering and fabrication and manufacturing. The openings could potentially build onto the college’s offerings of construction-related apprenticeship programs and a construction trades associate of arts degree.

Business representatives came to the December event from different facets of the construction industry, from excavation to interior design. Some said they appreciated the time and effort the college is putting into including the community in the upcoming work.

“Supporting people of color, women and emerging small businesses is a challenge because it’s hard for them to get the experience that’s necessary to do these jobs,” said Wendy Weaver, who works for a commercial furniture company. “It slows down the process, but you end up with folks who can do good work if you take the time.”

The main goal behind the presentations was to make construction subcontracting work more accessible to students and the community — especially to people who don’t often see themselves represented in the construction trades, said Bobby Daniels, a senior project manager with the construction management firm Wenaha Group. Clackamas hired Wenaha to oversee the entirety of the college’s bond construction effort.

“When I was in high school, I didn’t know any African American architects,” said Daniels, who grew up in the Portland area. “Having faces that look like us represented here, I think, makes a big difference.”

The college plans to host more gateway events throughout the life of the bond construction project, with the next event tentatively planned for spring 2026.

“We want to honor our commitments that we made in the bond campaign, keep our promises,” Layton told fair attendees in December. “We want to create spaces to hear from the community, especially those who don’t always have easy access to us.”

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/01/01/clackamas-community-college-bond-construction/