An Oregon-based construction firm has been selected to build the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact.
Hoffman Construction, headquartered in Portland, has been selected following a publicly advertised procurement process, which drew proposals from six highly qualified firms from Oregon and California.
“Hoffman Construction has a track record of success in bringing highly technical projects to life, which will be the order of the day as the Knight Campus moves from an incredible vision into physical structures,” said Michael Harwood, associate vice president for campus planning and facilities management. “Like the innovations we will see born out of the initiative, this project is moving forward with great speed and we’re confident Hoffman Construction can deliver on our aggressive timeline.”
Established in 1922, Hoffman has become one of Oregon’s largest contractors, having constructed highly technical buildings for Oregon Health Sciences University, Genentech, Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon, leading semiconductor manufacturers and others. In addition, Hoffman has constructed buildings on more than 10 higher education campuses, including OHSU, Oregon State University, Washington State University, the University of Washington and the University of Oregon, including projects such as the Matthew Knight Arena.
As with all capital construction projects on campus, the university will require the payment of a fair family wage for every worker hired to work on the project, through the enforcement of Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry prevailing wage rates. The university also will be committed to the development of bid packages that promote competitive bids from local subcontractors as well as minority- and women-owned businesses and emerging small businesses.
The selection of Hoffman Construction comes on the heels of the selection of Bora Architects of Portland and Ennead Architects of New York as the architecture team that will design the campus.
“We take our responsibility to Penny and Phil Knight incredibly seriously as we steward their tremendously generous gift and do the most with every dollar they have provided,” said Patrick Phillips, acting executive director of the Knight Campus. “We see Hoffman Construction as a perfect partner in honoring their vote of confidence in the University of Oregon.”
The design and construction of the Knight Campus ultimately will speed the evolution of scientific discoveries into innovations. Ultimately, the three buildings will become the spaces where UO faculty accomplish the goals of accelerating scientific impact, training the next generation of scientists, forging greater ties with industry and entrepreneurs, creating new educational opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students and improving the quality of life for people in Oregon, the nation and beyond.
—By Tobin J. Klinger, University Communications
