The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has announced the acquisition of two life sciences buildings adjacent to its Mission Bay campus, which will provide a new home for the UCSF school of dentistry. The expansion is intended to address space constraints across the university’s health sciences programmes and support education, research and clinical care activities.
One of the acquired properties, located at 409 Illinois Street and previously owned by an affiliate of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, will be redeveloped to accommodate dental education and clinical services. The building will include an education centre of approximately 60,000 sq ft, designed to support interprofessional learning involving students from dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and physical therapy. Teaching facilities are expected to include simulation laboratories and team-based learning spaces.
The site will also house dental clinics incorporating digital dentistry technologies, integrated primary and specialist care, and team-based models of service delivery. According to UCSF, the facilities are intended to expand clinical capacity and support access to dental care for patients in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The second building, at 499 Illinois Street, has been leased by UCSF for more than a decade and currently accommodates clinics, laboratories and administrative offices. By purchasing the property, the university aims to replace existing lease arrangements with a mortgage structure, which it states will reduce long-term costs and support future growth of its research programmes.
Together, the two buildings provide more than 525,000 sq ft of laboratory, office, clinical and educational space overlooking San Francisco Bay. Constructed in 2009 for life sciences use, the facilities already meet University of California seismic standards. UCSF has indicated that repurposing the existing buildings, rather than constructing new ones, is expected to shorten development timelines and reduce costs. Renovation work at 409 Illinois Street is scheduled to begin in 2026, with completion anticipated in late 2029.
The relocation represents a significant change for the UCSF school of dentistry, which is currently based in a building dating from 1979. The move is intended to support updated approaches to dental education, including the use of emerging technologies and closer integration with other health professions. UCSF has stated that co-locating dental education, research and clinical services at Mission Bay reflects a broader emphasis on recognising oral health as part of overall health.
The new facilities are also expected to incorporate design features aimed at improving patient comfort, privacy and accessibility. The dental clinics will be situated near UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Mission Bay, which may facilitate coordination of medical and dental care for paediatric patients.
In addition to clinical spaces, the development will include classrooms, collaborative learning areas, simulation and clinical skills laboratories, faculty offices and shared communal areas. UCSF has noted that the integrated education centre is the result of long-term planning to support interprofessional education across its professional schools.
The university has stated that the expansion is intended to provide modern infrastructure to support its education, research and patient care missions over the coming decades.
All images courtesy of UCSF.
