UC Regents Approve UCSF’s Long Range Development Plan for 2035
Land-use Plan Provides Blueprint for Growth in New Era of Health and Science
The UC Board of Regents has voted to approve UC San Francisco’s 2014 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) following five years of planning and substantial community involvement. The Regents also approved the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that accompanied the plan.
The Regents approved the plan and the EIR at their meeting on Nov. 20.
The LRDP provides a land-use roadmap to support the growth of the university’s education, research and patient care programs over the next two decades, while also considering the needs and changing landscape of nearby neighborhoods and San Francisco overall.
“The plan is a blueprint for a new era that in many ways signifies a sea change in the world of health and science,” said UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS. “Advances in technology, biomedical science and health care delivery continue to transform how teaching, medical treatment and scientific research are conducted. These shifts require a re-thinking of our physical-space needs. In addition, reductions in federal research funding require us to become more efficient, in terms of reduced overhead of leases and optimization of space.
“The LRDP helps to ensure that we are able to maintain our vital role as a world-class university – providing high-quality and specialized patient care; training the next generation of health care providers, scientists and academics; and discovering the greatest advances to fight and treat disease. It also will allow us to continue to support the Bay Area. As San Francisco’s second-largest employer, we take pride in bringing more good jobs to the city, and helping to drive the region’s position as a global leader in health and science.”
Unlike the previous LRDP, which focused on significant growth – and resulted in the creation of the Mission Bay campus site – this plan anticipates a slower rate of growth over the next 20 years, and places renewed focus on consolidation and renovation of existing facilities as well as improving seismic safety.
“Among other aspects, the plan will enable faculty, staff and students to work more collaboratively and efficiently, thanks to consolidation and fewer remote sites,” said Lori Yamauchi, UCSF’s Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Planning. “It will also have other benefits, from helping to attract top talent to the Bay Area and creating a more vibrant and collegial environment, to reducing commute time and traffic congestion.”
The LRDP represents extensive planning and consultation with UCSF staff as well as with adjacent communities and the city’s civic leaders. “UCSF clearly incorporated neighbor feedback into the LRDP,” said Susan Eslick, vice president of the Dogpatch Neighborhood Association and a member of UCSF’s Community Advisory Group. “We appreciate UCSF wanting to ensure that its development complements and supports the future needs of our neighborhoods and San Francisco.”
The LRDP anticipates a 30 percent rise in UCSF’s total population, including a 31 percent increase in employees and 34 percent more patient visits, and a 26 percent increase in gross square footage (gsf), mostly at the Mission Bay campus site where UCSF owns undeveloped land within its existing 62-acre site and has infrastructure planned to support the expansion.
The LRDP’s key features include:
- a move of inpatient care from the Mount Zion campus site to the new UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay in 2015, and a re-purposing of the vacated space at Mount Zion to accommodate outpatient care, programs and support uses
- a more than doubling of campus housing units for students, trainees and faculty at both the Parnassus Heights and Mission Bay campus sites (from 653 to 1,505 units), reducing commute time and traffic congestion as well as helping to support San Francisco’s housing goals
- increased open space at Mission Bay, including new outdoor recreational space
- an almost 50 percent increase in research capacity, which will enhance collaboration across disciplines and help lead to the next generation of biomedical discoveries
- construction of a new, seismically safe hospital at Parnassus Heights to replace the current Moffitt Hospital, along with demolition of some buildings and upgrades of others at that campus site to enhance efficiency
- numerous improvements to the public areas around the Parnassus Heights campus site, to reduce traffic congestion and increase pedestrian safety
- consolidation of remote sites, which will reduce travel time, enhance operational efficiency, contain costs, and enable UCSF to grow in an environmentally responsible manner
“This is an exciting time in the history of UCSF,” said Hawgood, “with the pending opening of three new hospitals at Mission Bay in February, and our new LRDP giving us the opportunity to serve more patients in need of care and helping us to lead the next revolution in life-saving discoveries.”
UCSF engaged in an extensive community process with our neighbors and surrounding communities that helped shape the LRDP proposals.
UCSF will continue to manage the Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve as permanent open space and will create new and restored trails. Photo by Cindy Chew
The majority of UCSF’s growth is projected to occur at the Mission Bay campus site, where UCSF owns undeveloped land and infrastructure is planned to support the growth. Photo by Hawkeye Aerial
Many of the LRDP’s proposals ensure that UCSF’s facilities are seismically safe. This effort is one of the key objectives of the LRDP. Work to retrofit the Clinical Sciences Building on the Parnassus Heights campus site is already under way. Photo by Susan Merrell
New buildings and open space – including outdoor recreation space – would complete the Mission Bay campus. Photo by Marco Sanchez
A new hospital addition is proposed to replace Moffitt Hospital at Parnassus Heights, after which Moffitt Hospital would be renovated and re-purposed for outpatient, hospital support and other non-acute-care uses. Photo by Susan Merrell
After moves to the Medical Center at Mission Bay in 2015, inpatient facilities at Mount Zion will be re-purposed for outpatient care and for programs and support uses. Photo by Susan Merrell
New housing for students at Mission Bay, and for students and faculty at Parnassus Heights – more than 850 new units in total – will strengthen campus life and reduce commute traffic. These additions will more than double the number of units and will support the city's overall housing goals. Photo by Susan Merrell
The Parnassus Avenue Streetscape Plan will increase pedestrian and bicycle safety, create more open space, and make other improvements that will enhance the area for the UCSF community and the public.
The LRDP proposes almost 50% more research capacity – mostly at Mission Bay – to enhance collaboration, spur new life-saving discoveries, and allow for greater interaction between disciplines. Photo by Susan Merrell
Growth across the spectrum will support UCSF’s mission: to advance health worldwide. The LRDP will allow the University to support its work to provide high-quality and specialized health care, train the next generation of medical professionals, and help lead the effort to find life-saving discoveries.