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UC San Diego Medical Center is planning a significant makeover for its Hillcrest medical campus, including replacing the 11-story, 50-year-old hospital, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. A reimagining effort for the 56-acre campus, which includes 37 buildings and the landmark medical center, is the result of state requirements that older hospitals receive earthquake-proofing updates by 2030 or shut down, according to UCSD Director of Physical and Community Planning Robert Clossin.
He said the current medical center had reached a point where modifications no longer make sense, making the timing right for a replacement. The medical center must remain operational during construction of a replacement, so Clossin said planners are considering various sites for the new hospital on the 25 acres of developable land on the Hillcrest campus, working around steeply sloped areas.
The university is also considering razing existing low-rise buildings and replacing them with taller medical office space and/or housing for faculty and staff members. In developing the new structures, UCSD will make a special effort to reduce neighborhood noise and traffic by ensuring various modes of mass transit are available to and from the Hillcrest campus.
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