UC Irvine is another step closer to breaking ground on the first of three new buildings it expects will bolster health care in Orange County.

When the UC Board of Regents approved the building last week — a 144-bed facility — it advanced long-held plans for a more than $1 billion investment that aims to boost the university’s medical research bonafides and bring crucial care to the area.

Two years ago, Chad Lefteris was hired as the new CEO of UCI health to bring the vision across the finish line. Planning for the campus has been underway for at least three years. Now they’re close to getting started and filling what Lefteris calls a much-needed gap in care.

What You Need To Know

  • The project is expected to surpass $1 billion and will be funded by donations and revenues from UCI Health

  • The new campus will have three buildings and is expected to complement the UCI Health flagship location in Orange

  • Construction on the first building is expected to start later this year and be completed in 2022

  • UCI Health estimates the project will bring 2,500 health care and construction jobs to the area

“The data tells us patients are leaving the Irvine, Newport Beach, and south county zip codes and going out of county for their care,” he said.

The announcement also brings important visibility to the project and marks a milestone fundraisers hope can boost donations.

The building will contain an ambulatory unit and focus heavily on oncology contributing to what Lefteris said would be hundreds of clinical trials among UCI Health campuses. Many of those clinical trials will include oncology but are expected to span several medical disciplines.

But the new medical campus will offer much more. It will house the Center for Children’s Health, which will operate wellness programs and be the home for urgent and emergency care plus specialty disciplines.

“This is about improving the health of the citizens of Orange County,” Lefteris said.

But the campus is also expected to bring economic value to the area, presenting local businesses with various opportunities to contract as vendors. And it will mean jobs. UCI projects that 2,500 health care and construction workers will draw paychecks from the project.

 “Once this project is completed, the UCI health care system will be unparalleled in this region, with two advanced medical centers, nationally recognized research units conducting hundreds of clinical trials, and a network of community locations stretching to all corners of Orange County,” Chancellor Howard Gillman said in a news release. “In addition to the extraordinary health care provided at the medical center, the surrounding grounds of UCI Presidential Gateway will offer educational programs, academic research, art, and beautiful nature trails. It will be a place to nurture health and lifelong wellbeing – truly advancing the three cornerstones of the university’s mission of teaching, research, and public service.”

Related Stories

 

That “Presidential Gateway” is a planned 202-acre portion of the campus with “healing gardens, naturescapes, and a research presearch” in the San Joaquin Marsh. Construction will also include a 150 buffer built in consultation with UCI biologists to protect the marsh.

The buildings will also use sustainable energy, with heating and cooling systems running entirely off electricity provided by UCI green power. 

The building is expected to start later in 2021, with the completion of the first outpatient building by 2022.