Please join us in celebrating the overwhelmingly exciting news – The Emerson School is moving to a new location!
For 20 years, we have been searching for a facility that will offer us security and sustainability long into the future. Our Board has worked tirelessly to help secure a fantastic downtown location with the longest-term lease imaginable (15-20 years!) for our small charter school. We have finally found this space and we are thrilled to share this amazing news with all of you.
Beginning in the fall of 2023, we expect to occupy a brand-new school building located at 1800 SW 1st Avenue in downtown Portland overlooking the Willamette River and Mt. Hood!
The Emerson School is on the precipice of realizing so many of our collective dreams and visions.
Join us in musing about just a few…
- Have you ever dreamed of larger classrooms with abundant natural light and new technology such as projectors mounted in the ceilings? We have too!
- Have you ever wished that The Emerson School had a dedicated play space designed by Emerson staff and students? We have too!
- Have you ever thought about how nice it would be if Emerson students had large, clean, safe, public spaces and parks that could be accessed on a daily basis (think Pettygrove Park, Lovejoy Fountain Park, Waterfront Park, and even Poet’s Beach)? We have too!
- Have you imagined what it would be like if our building was literally located at the convergence of city bus lines, Max lines, and Streetcar lines for all of the enriching field studies we take? We certainly have as well!
- Have you found yourself wishing that we had a few designated parent/guardian parking spaces available when you need to drop off your child after an appointment or pick them up early from school when they are not feeling well? We have too!
- Have you ever noticed that The Emerson School teachers don’t have a dedicated break space in our school to eat lunch, relax, or just do some deep breathing during the day? We have too!
- Have you wished that your child had access to clean (running) water throughout the day that could be accessed from sinks/drinking fountains from within their own classroom? Oh, yes please!
- Have you often found yourself wishing that our school bathrooms were modern, accessible, truly gender neutral, and had working locks? We are right there with you!
We can’t wait to show you our new school (only 7 minutes away from our current location)! As of today, we have mutual agreement between our new landlord and The Emerson School. We expect to move into our new space at the end of the summer so we can begin the 2023-24 school year in our new location. While the school will be located in what has technically served as office space downtown, the entire space will be rebuilt as an elementary school and rated “E occupancy” which is an extensive process. The space is being custom designed for The Emerson School per our architect’s specifications. Our school will be located in our own ground floor wing and we will have our own dedicated entry and exits separate from the rest of the building/tenants.
We are also thrilled to be relocating to a quieter and cleaner part of downtown Portland. As a community committed to being part of an urban environment, it is exciting to find a downtown location that is also safe and welcoming to children and families.
We have been working diligently with a team of real estate agents, architects, the building owners and landlords, and The City of Portland to move this incredible opportunity forward. We will keep you all posted as we “break ground” on this rebuild project.
In the meantime, we invite you to take a look at the latest architectural renderings of the new space to get a feel for the school we are creating. We hope you will agree that it feels like Emerson with a much needed “facelift”.
School Renderings
Here’s to the next 20 years of The Emerson School in a brand new building!