Unparalleled in its scope and significance, the new life sciences campus at UCSF Mission Bay is a triumph for all those involved with the project and everyone who will benefit from its breakthroughs.

The development of the new 43-acre campus doubles UCSF's research and teaching space, long land-locked at Parnassus Heights, where scientists actually worked in reclaimed restrooms and closets, and promises to accelerate the pace of biomedical research.

The transformation of land once the victim of post-industrial neglect into the largest academic biomedical research expansion in the US is also a milestone for San Francisco. UCSF Mission Bay is the centerpiece of a 303-acre redevelopment project, the city's largest development since the building of Golden Gate Park and the last remaining major open parcel of land.

UCSF Mission Bay itself will be a destination spot — offering beautifully landscaped grounds, public artworks, a landmark community center and the rich cultural and educational experiences typical of a top-notch University. Already the city's second-largest employer, UCSF will further stimulate economic growth at Mission Bay, opening more doors for employment and business opportunities.

In his inaugural speech, UCSF pioneer Hugh Toland offered his hope that the medical school he founded in 1864 would "spring into usefulness and become an ornament to the city and an honor to the state."

Today, UCSF has become much more than that. UCSF boasts high-ranking schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and Graduate Division as well as one of the nation's top medical centers. UCSF's road to glory is long and distinguished.

Since its celebrated groundbreaking in 1999, UCSF Mission Bay represents an astounding achievement for scores of faculty, staff, students, campus and city officials, donors and community members who have collaborated in myriad ways to make the campus a reality.

New School of Medicine Dean David Kessler called UCSF Mission Bay, "a striking accomplishment, unparalleled in its potential to build interdisciplinary collaboration between basic and clinical research and to integrate it with state-of the-art medical care."

Indeed, researchers at the UCSF Mission Bay campus will focus on a variety of basic science disciplines, including human genetics, developmental biology, cell biology, developmental neuroscience, structural and chemical biology, and molecular and cell biology. Research programs and the interior designs of the buildings encourage collaboration among scientists, clinicians, staff and students in a meaningful way that is a hallmark of UCSF.

"We expect the unexpected from the synergy among our scientists at Mission Bay," says School of Pharmacy Dean Mary Anne Koda-Kimble.

Just days after the first scientists moved into Genentech Hall in January 2003, they began conducting research in their new laboratories with very little downtime thanks to a well-orchestrated planning process, says Cynthia Kenyon, Herbert Boyer Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics. "The moment people set foot there, they were so happy," says Kenyon, who has worked at UCSF since 1986. "It's great to have different interactions with new colleagues and it's nice to have a change."

Art & architecture

In its evolution into a vital and vibrant urban campus, UCSF Mission Bay has employed the expertise of internationally renowned architects who worked with faculty and campus planners to design the buildings and grounds.

"We at UCSF pride ourselves on doing our research and teaching in innovative, stylish and collegial ways," said Regis B. Kelly, UCSF executive vice chancellor for research. "Thus, when we decided to double our research and teaching capacity by building a second campus at Mission Bay, it was only natural to choose architecture that reflected these same values."

Master planners Machado and Silvetti Architects of Cambridge, Mass., were selected through an international competition. The Mission Bay campus master plan and design guidelines, prepared with Gordon H. Chong & Partners, is based on four principles — connectivity, collegiality, cohesiveness and context — that govern the organization and character of open space and buildings.

"The campus master plan provides a framework for the design of built and open spaces that will be unified in their elements, yet varied in their appearance, allowing for creative uses of material, color and form that will contribute to the urban landscape of San Francisco," says Lori Yamauchi, assistant vice chancellor of campus planning.

At the heart of the new campus is the Koret Quad, a 3.2-acre space the size of San Francisco's Union Square, which is designed to serve as a park-like gathering place with a scenic walkway to the waterfront. Acclaimed landscape architect Peter Walker and Partners designed all of the Mission Bay open spaces and pathways to date. The entire campus is expected to have at least eight acres of publicly accessible open space.

The campus also incorporates provocative works of public art by contemporary artists, thanks to the vision of UCSF Chancellor Mike Bishop, who has supported installing public art at other UCSF locations as well. "Our purpose is to create an environment that will be a credit and benefit to the entire community — a stimulating and pleasant place to work and visit — a permanent legacy to the city," said Bishop, who appointed a team of experts to guide the art program at Mission Bay.

Future of Mission Bay

The building of such as campus would be awesome at any time in history, but the progress is even more amazing during a national economic recession. And while the future of Mission Bay looks bright, Bruce Spaulding, vice chancellor of University Advancement and Planning, says many challenges are ahead.

One of the most critical, he says, is continuing to finance the new campus with the help of the philanthropic community. Although construction funds for the new campus are coming from a variety of sources, a revised financing plan calls for significant contributions from community donors beyond the $210 million originally sought.

"UCSF has been remarkably successful in attracting donations for Mission Bay," says Spaulding. "This success can be directly attributed to Andy Grove and the leadership of our $1.4-billion-dollar Campaign for UCSF. Success breeds success, and I am optimistic we can achieve the new higher target of $345 million for Mission Bay."

And while Genentech Hall was the beneficiary of a voter-approved state bond measure, traditionally, research buildings and medical centers have not been a priority for state general obligation bonds. Instead, the statewide priority has been to support surging undergraduate enrollment and to finance buildings for that purpose, Spaulding notes. "Perhaps, we can make the case that our buildings and research programs are true 'economic engines,' which improve the business climate of the state and produce significant direct and indirect revenues. I'd love to have the opportunity to present our case to the Governor-elect."

The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce honored UCSF and Spaulding, who represented the University, in successful negotiations with Nelson Rising, CEO of Catellus Development Corp., the master developer of the 303-acre Mission Bay project which donated 30 acres to UCSF, and Mayor Willie Brown, who led the City and County of San Francisco to donate the additional 13 acres. That monumental deal netted property for UCSF valued in excess of $100 million.

Spaulding also plans to present the University's case to the successor of Mayor Brown, who is termed out of office. "I would hope that our new mayor understands the advantages of UCSF to San Francisco and the region as well as Mayor Brown did," Spaulding says. "Willie was a true friend of the campus, both as speaker [of the State Assembly] and mayor. I would especially like our new mayor to appreciate the advantages that the UCSF Medical Center, as a world-class hospital, brings to the city."

Determining just how the recent vote by Catellus stockholders to convert to a real estate investment trust, or REIT, effective in 2004, affects the area surrounding UCSF Mission Bay is difficult, Spaulding explains. "Simply put, the REIT-type activities of Catellus, a publicly traded company, have become the dominant aspect of the firm. What matters to UCSF is that a REIT may only make a limited percentage of its profits from being a traditional developer. Therefore, Catellus may sell off some existing undeveloped properties to other firms to produce revenue that would allow it to buy existing developed properties with rental streams. This approach is more consistent with a REIT's goals.

"Does this mean they will sell off part of Mission Bay? The answer is, perhaps. If the price is right, they may sell to other developers — for example, by considering selling a part of the biotech zone to a seasoned biotech developer. On the other hand, Catellus may simply decide to sit on vacant land until prices rise. Mission Bay has become a smaller and smaller part of the Catellus portfolio, as other assets in the company have grown. The 'cost basis' for Catellus in owning this land, which was passed on from the railroad, is low, so the company can wait for a better San Francisco real estate climate, if it likes."

And the prospect of a giant retailer moving in across from UCSF Mission Bay is unlikely, explains Spaulding, given the city's requirements to have sufficient surface parking, traditional opposition to chain stores, high property prices, traffic and zoning issues.

These same factors will be considered when contemplating the future location of UCSF Medical Center's inpatient facilities, which must be largely replaced in part to meet upcoming state-mandated deadlines for earthquake safety.

"What I would most like to see us resolve in the next ten years, is the 'best path' for our medical center, and for us to ascertain the best manner in which to integrate clinical research with the hospital's physical development plans, and the build-out of the second half of the Mission Bay campus," Spaulding says.

Faculty members plan to play a pivotal role in the hospital replacement discussion and are looking at it from all angles — academic benefits, land acquisition costs and access to health care, according to Leonard Zegans, new chair of the UCSF chapter of the Academic Senate. "The Academic Senate is emerging as the central processing unit of all UCSF," he says. "I see us really making shared governance a reality. Mission Bay represents a tremendous opportunity for UCSF to become the leader in biomedical research in the country and it provides us an opportunity not only to develop basic sciences, but clinical and translational — from bench to bedside research — for the well-being of the people."

And whether UCSF Mission Bay will attract other neighbors in addition to the UCSF-affiliated Gladstone Institutes depends upon how soon scientists and scholars will cultivate relationships with their peers in biotech and pharmaceutical companies.

"When Leland Stanford Jr. selected the 'farm' as a site for the Stanford campus, no one was attracted to be near the site, as a site in and of itself," Spaulding says. "In later years, firms wanted to be near the actual researchers and labs, which spawned Silicon Valley. UCSF has only begun to populate Mission Bay this year. Therefore, as far as I am concerned, the starting gun has just been fired. Firms don't want to be near the blue and gold flag, they want real relationships."

Another aspect of this is the potential for faculty to initiate start-up companies, Spaulding explains. "No one at UCSF in the last 40 years could start up a new company anywhere near Parnassus, so they learned to cope with distance, and settled in South San Francisco or the East Bay. Now, there may be an opportunity for future start ups, founded by Mission Bay faculty, to locate in a proximate location. This will be more probable if an incubator building is developed. The questions still before us are: will the advantages of proximity be overwhelmed by the cost premium of being in an urban area, and will pricing in the Mission Bay area be more competitive than it has been for the last five years?"

Source: Lisa Cisneros

Last updated April 11, 2005

Mission Bay neighborhood

From the roof of Genentech Hall, the lights of downtown San Francisco beckon. To the right, the illuminated Bay Bridge and the flood lights of PacBell Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. Photo by Majed.