On the heels of our recent acquisitions in the South Bay and downtown Los Angeles, I write to share another groundbreaking development: UCLA has acquired the former Westside Pavilion mall, an expansive 700,000-square-foot property just two miles from our main campus that we will reshape into a nexus of exploration and discovery called the UCLA Research Park.
This acquisition — which delivers on our 2023–28 Strategic Plan goals of deepening ties to L.A. and using our research prowess to advance the common good — will be absolutely transformative for UCLA, our great city and the world. We will remake the empty former mall into a state-of-the-art research and innovation hub 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.
Initially, the UCLA Research Park will house the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy, a major new multidisciplinary institute focused on advanced research in these important biomedical fields. The institute will place UCLA and our city at the forefront of these disciplines, working to find new treatments and therapies to fight and prevent cancer and autoimmune, neurological and cardiovascular diseases.
In addition, the space will become the new home of UCLA’s Center for Quantum Science and Engineering, which was established in 2018 and brings together academic and industry partners to advance cutting-edge research and development in quantum computing, communication and sensing.
Importantly, the UCLA Research Park will also serve campus units spanning the disciplines as well as our broader community. In addition to flexible work areas, the former mall includes a full 12-screen multiplex movie theater that may be converted into lecture halls or performance spaces where we can offer programming across the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences.
We are grateful that these exciting initiatives are made possible in part by an intended $500 million investment from the state of California toward the creation of the immunology and immunotherapy institute, with $200 million already allocated. The institute is also generously 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.
Google — which previously leased part of what will become the UCLA Research Park and began its conversion to flexible office space — also supported UCLA’s acquisition. In pursuing this opportunity, we were able to take advantage of a favorable real estate market, in which the cost to acquire property is lower than the cost to build on our land-constrained campus.
The Westside Pavilion site itself will be familiar to many Bruins who have ties to this part of L.A. Built in 1985, the once-bustling mall was for many years a central gathering place on the Westside. Over the past decade, it suffered from a decline alongside other indoor malls across the country, leaving its storefronts largely empty. We recognize the former Westside Pavilion’s place in L.A.’s history and are grateful for the chance to turn the empty former mall into the future home of discoveries that will change the world.
Many, many people have been involved in helping to secure this acquisition and lay initial plans for the UCLA Research Park, and I thank all those who have supported the project thus far. I would like to extend particular gratitude to Vice Chancellor for UCLA Health Sciences and CEO of UCLA Health Dr. John Mazziotta — who has championed the prospect of an immunology and immunotherapy hub at UCLA for years and played a central role in the creation of the new institute — as well as Vice Chancellor for Research and Creative Activities Roger Wakimoto and Interim Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer Allison Baird-James.
UCLA’s acquisition of three major properties in the past 15 months — UCLA South Bay, UCLA Downtown and now the UCLA Research Park — represents seismic and important change for our institution. By providing much-needed space for our land-constrained university, these additions are critical for UCLA to flourish in our second century.
I have the greatest confidence that the seeds we are planting and investing in today will become great trees, and that in the decades to come these acquisitions will solidify UCLA’s place as an institution of unequaled positive impact.
