UCLA has acquired the former Westside Pavilion shopping mall, which the university will transform into the UCLA Research Park, bringing together scholars and industry experts from around the world to create a nexus for discovery and innovation that will benefit Southern California and beyond.
The 700,000-square-foot property, located 2 miles south of the Westwood campus, will initially host two multidisciplinary research centers: the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy at UCLA and the UCLA Center for Quantum Science and Engineering.
The new UCLA Research Park is made possible in part by an intended $500 million investment, with $200 million already allocated, from the state of California to establish and fund the immunology and immunotherapy institute at UCLA. The institute is also supported by a group of founding donors from the biotechnology, academic, entrepreneurship and philanthropic communities led by Meyer Luskin, Dr. Gary Michelson, Dr. Eric Esrailian, Dr. Arie Belldegrun, Sean Parker and Michael Milken.
In addition, Google—which previously leased part of the property—helped enable and support UCLA’s acquisition. Favorable real estate market conditions helped create the historic opportunity for the university as well.
At the 700,000-square-foot UCLA Research Park site, scholars, industry partners, government agencies, startups and students will explore new areas of inquiry and achieve breakthroughs that serve global society.
Photo by David Esquivel/UCLA
The institute will draw on the expertise of UCLA faculty members, scholars from different higher education institutions, and other leading scientists and practitioners in clinical and biomedical scientific research, including human genetics, genomics, computer science, engineering and information science. Researchers will pursue new tools, treatments and vaccines for cancer, autoimmune and immune deficiency disorders, infectious diseases, allergies, heart conditions, solid organ transplantation and other major health-related issues.
The UCLA Research Park will also be home to the UCLA Center for Quantum Science and Engineering, which conducts research in the emerging field of quantum science and technology — including quantum computing, communication and sensing — with the aim of dramatically increasing information processing power by harnessing the unusual behavior of subatomic particles. The center will also house the Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Present and Future Quantum Computation, an NSF-funded initiative that includes UCLA and seven other universities.
UCLA acquired the property and the attached multiplex theater — occupying 10800, 10830 and 10850 W. Pico Blvd. — from Hudson Pacific Properties and Macerich. The companies redeveloped a significant portion of the former mall, updating building systems infrastructure and conducting a major seismic retrofit, as well as adding a new window wall, concrete building facades, courtyards, terraces and patio areas. Hudson Pacific Properties and Macerich also worked closely with Google on converting part of the property to flexible office space.
“We’re delighted that UCLA will be further developing this state-of-the-art facility to help accelerate transformative research and innovation,” said Scott Foster, Google’s vice president of real estate and workplace services. “Google has called the greater Los Angeles area home for over 20 years, and we saw an opportunity for the space to be better utilized in a way that benefits the broader community.”
