California university acquires former shopping mall for $700M, aiming to create research hub
Google assisted UCLA in acquiring the property, the university said in a statement
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}- The University of California, Los Angeles has plans to transform a former shopping mall into a research facility.
- The 700,000-square-foot facility is located two miles from the university's Westwood campus.
- The construction of the research center is expected to take a little over three years, with an additional two years dedicated to hiring workers.
The University of California, Los Angeles, will turn a sprawling former shopping mall into cutting-edge centers for immunology and quantum science research, Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials announced Wednesday.
The 700,000-square-foot former Westside Pavilion, located 2 miles from the university's Westwood campus, will be called UCLA Research Park.
It will house the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy at UCLA, the UCLA Center for Quantum Science and Engineering, and eventually other programs, the governor said. He said it will take a little over three years to build out the research center and another two years to attract "the best and the brightest" to work there.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It will serve as a state-of-the-art hub of research and innovation that will bring together academics, corporate partners, government agencies and startups to explore new areas of inquiry and achieve breakthroughs that could serve the common good," UCLA Chancellor Gene Block told a news conference.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is seen on Jan. 3, 2024, discussing the future UCLA Research Park, which is set to be built at the former Westside Pavilion in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
The mall shut down years ago. In 2019, Google leased the property and planned to use part of it for office space, a project that never came about. Google helped enable UCLA's acquisition, the university said in a statement.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}UCLA did not disclose the cost of the purchase, but Hudson Pacific Properties and the Macerich mixed-use real estate company, which were in a joint venture that owned the location, said it was acquired by the University of California for $700 million.