An artist's rendering of the clinical cancer building at UCSF
Mount Zion Medical Center.

The University of California Board of Regents approved financing for the construction of a long-awaited clinical cancer center building at the UCSF Mount Zion Medical Center.

The five-story, 88,000-square-foot building will be at the corner of Sutter and Divisadero streets and will house clinical cancer programs of UCSF Mount Zion Medical Center, part of UCSF Stanford Health Care. The new facility will include a state-of-the-art radiation therapy center, a patient-oriented breast care center, mammography, chemotherapy and doctors' offices.

The Regents approved bond financing of $33 million for the UCSF Cancer Center building at their February 19 meeting in San Francisco. The new building has a total project cost of $42.5 million, which includes $10 million to be obtained through private fundraising.

Bond financing for the new UCSF Mount Zion building is part of a $338.4 million capital construction and debt restructuring bond package for UCSF Stanford Health Care. The UC Regents and the Stanford University Board of Trustees each have approved the bond package.

The plan calls for $47 million in bond financing for an ambulatory care center at Stanford that also will provide cancer treatment. The total cost of the Stanford project will be $117 million, of which $50 million will come through private fundraising and $20 million from regular capital programs.

The two centers, at UCSF and Stanford, are needed to accommodate growth in cancer care as well as to consolidate clinical services in adjacent space.

"The building of the cancer center, done in parallel with complementary efforts at Stanford, is a major step toward integrating cancer research and the clinical environment. Together, we expect to build a first-class cancer center for Northern California over the next five years," said Frank McCormick, director of the UCSF Cancer Center.

UCSF Stanford Chief Executive Officer Peter Van Etten also cited the complementary nature of the projects and their shared goal of transforming laboratory discoveries into new treatments as quickly as possible.

"The plans build on the collective strengths of the two institutions and are in keeping with the mission of UCSF Stanford Health Care to provide cutting-edge treatment capabilities and to improve and innovate in the area of patient care," Van Etten said.

Long known as a major center for basic cancer research, UCSF is working to enhance clinical research by arranging to provide access to both clinical care and trials under one roof. UCSF opened its new cancer research building in 1997 and is continuing to recruit nationally recognized cancer researchers for the facility. The goal is to become the first National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center in Northern California. Such a designation would allow the center to receive more grants and conduct more clinical trials to serve patients in Northern California. UCSF expects to apply for the designation this year.

"With this new project, we will be able to offer interdisciplinary care that is unique in the Bay Area. We are bringing together the scientific community with clinicians to provide the most up-to-date clinical protocols for people in Northern California," according to Bruce Schroffel, chief operating officer of the UCSF Medical Center.
Groundbreaking for the new building will take place by June 1 and construction should be completed by the end of 1999, he said.

"It should be an elegant building," Schroffel said, noting that planners are studying a proposal for a two-story atrium that will be the focal point of the entry and also will function as a new entry for the entire UCSF Mount Zion Medical Center.

Preliminary plans call for the building exterior to be accented by large glass bay windows offset by brick. A patient drop-off canopy also will be provided in front of the existing hospital entry.

by Dale Martin

1st appeared 2/24/98

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