LOS ANGELES — On Jan 03, Governor Gavin Newsom, joined by University of California (UC) President Michael Drake, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, representatives of Google, elected officials, and academic, business, and health care leaders announced the state has acquired the former Westside Pavilion shopping mall in Los Angeles. The site — which UCLA will transform into the UCLA Research Park — will bring together academics and industry partners from around the world to lead scientific and technology projects that will benefit California, the United States, and the world.

“California is the epicenter of global innovation — from the creation of the internet to the dominance of artificial intelligence, humanity’s future happens here first. Leveraging the next waves of technology and science — quantum computing and the immense potential of immunology — the UCLA Research Park will cement California’s global economic, scientific, and technological dominance into the 22nd century, and beyond,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.

The 700,000-square-foot property will initially host two multidisciplinary research centers: the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy at UCLA and the Center for Quantum Science and Engineering.

“This purchase exemplifies the remarkable collaboration between the University of California, the State of California, and our partners in the private sector,” said UC President Michael Drake. “We’re grateful to Governor Newsom and the Legislature for their continued support. Investments like this help ensure that the University can continue to thrive and serve people across California.”

“This acquisition will be absolutely transformative for UCLA, our great city and the world. Governor 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 new UCLA Research Park is made possible in part by a prior state investment 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.

Harnessing the power of public-private partnerships, and working with key partners — including Google, Hudson Pacific Properties, and Macerich — the state is saving approximately $223 million on the research park and opening years ahead of schedule.

Google, which previously leased part of the property, helped enable and support UCLA’s acquisition.