UCLA has acquired the former Westside Pavilion shopping mall, which the university will transform into the UCLA Research Park, with Google assisting on converting part of the property.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“This acquisition will be absolutely transformative for UCLA, our great city, and the world. Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Legislature helped make this possible through a generous state investment, and we are deeply thankful for their support,” said UCLA Chancellor Gene Block. “We will remake the empty former mall into a state-of-the-art hub of research and innovation that will bring scholars from different higher education institutions, corporate partners, government agencies and startups together to explore new areas of inquiry and achieve breakthroughs that will serve our global society.”
The 700,000-square-foot property, located two 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.
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.
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.
The former mall includes a full 12-screen multiplex movie theater that may be converted into lecture halls or performance spaces, allowing UCLA to offer programming across the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences.
Source link