Hillsboro: Council Opens $1.5 Million More in Gain Share Money for Block 56 Campus
- The Hillsboro School District can now draw on $1.5 million more in state Gain Share money for its planned health and education campus on downtown Block 56.
- With that money added, $2,423,132.75 remains available to the district, the agreement in the council packet says.
- That $2.4 million figure can be checked against the staff report.
The Hillsboro School District can now draw on $1.5 million more in state Gain Share money for its planned health and education campus on downtown Block 56. The City Council approved the agreement 6-0 on Oct. 20 as part of the consent agenda, the group of routine items passed in one vote.
With that money added, $2,423,132.75 remains available to the district, the agreement in the council packet says. The project, the Hillsboro Healthcare and Education Commons, sits on Washington Street between 5th and 6th avenues. The staff report lists the district, Portland Community College and Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center as partners.
Checking the city’s numbers
That $2.4 million figure can be checked against the staff report. The report says the city and district signed an agreement in August 2023 covering Gain Share received through the 2023-24 budget year, a total of $4.5 million. The district has been drawing on it for Block 56 and “has about $923,133 remaining.”
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| 2023 allocation | $4,500,000 |
| Left from 2023 money (staff report, rounded) | about $923,133 |
| New money set aside since 2023 | $1,500,000 |
| Available now (agreement) | $2,423,132.75 |
| Total of past and future payments (agreement) | $6,000,000 |
| Already drawn (our calculation) | $3,576,867.25 |
The figures agree. By our calculation, $923,133 plus $1.5 million is $2,423,133, which matches the agreement within 25 cents. Subtracting the available balance from the $6 million total shows the district has already drawn about $3.58 million, or nearly 80% of the 2023 money. The packet does not list what those draws paid for.
Where Gain Share money comes from
Gain Share is a slice of Oregon income tax. It is tied to companies that sign a Strategic Investment Program deal, which Business Oregon says gives a 15-year property tax exemption on part of a large investment.
Each year, such a company reports its new and retained jobs and their average salary to the state, the staff report says. The state Department of Administrative Services then estimates the income tax those workers paid and puts 50% of it into a fund it shares with local governments. Hillsboro and Washington County have one active deal, according to the report: the 2014 Intel agreement, first triggered in the 2016-17 budget year.
The city used to handle the school district’s share informally. The report says the two sides agreed to set aside $500,000 a year in Gain Share for district projects before the 2023 agreement made that formal.
Who signs off on more money
The agreement is written to take effect July 1, 2026, months before the vote, and lets payments continue through the 2030-31 budget year. In its own wording, it reinstates the 2023 agreement and extends it “through June 30, 2031.”
It also lets the total grow without a return trip to the council. Section 2.1.2 allows the city manager or a designee to sign amendments raising the $6 million total “without further City Council approval.” Any increase must come from new Gain Share the city receives and sets aside for this purpose.
To get money, the district sends invoices that must spell out “the type, amount, and rate of costs.” The city then pays “within or around 30 days,” the agreement says. The purpose it states is “education and workforce development including land acquisition and development.” The agreement text itself does not name Block 56; only the staff report and flyer do.
A union carpenter’s question
That wording drew a question earlier in the meeting, during public comment. A speaker who said he was with the carpenters’ union asked whether language tied to the money protects the local workforce if it pays for land or construction. He also asked about standards such as family benefits and a livable wage, according to the meeting video.
The agreement in the packet does not mention wages, benefits, apprenticeships or local hiring. Section 3 requires each side to follow applicable laws, including rules against discrimination in employment.
On the video, no answer to his question is heard during public comment. When the consent agenda came up later, councilors pulled only a separate job reclassification item for discussion. They then approved the rest, Gain Share item included, in a roll call with no discussion of it.
From demolition bids to a 2029 opening
The staff report says “no community engagement was conducted” for this agreement. It points instead to an April 2026 public meeting on Blocks 56 and 67, which the district’s event notice set for April 15 at OHSU’s Health Education Center.
A district flyer in the packet describes 94,000 square feet across “two facilities.” Virginia Garcia would use 59,300 for a wellness center, PCC 30,000 for workforce training and the district 4,700 for high school career programs. The flyer lists an “Opening Fall 2029.”
The district’s own records show what comes first. A business report in its Sept. 22 board packet (page 42) says staff were preparing a request for proposals for “Demolition Services for Block 56,” along with one for an owner’s representative.
The agreement allows payments through June 30, 2031, about a year and a half after the flyer’s planned fall 2029 opening.
Top image: Illustrative image, 2022: a fenced downtown construction site in Indianapolis (not Block 56). Photo: Missvain (Sarah Stierch), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).
